SATURN

Overview

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and a gas giant — the second-largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. Its body is made mostly of hydrogen and helium, a world of gas with no solid surface to stand on.

Saturn is best known, of course, for the beautiful rings that encircle it. They are made of countless fragments of ice and rock, and stand out far more than the rings of any other planet in the solar system. Through a telescope, these rings are famously crisp and clear to see.

Features

Saturn's rings span an enormous width, yet they are only a tiny fraction of that in thickness. Like a thin disk, particles of ice and rock circle the planet's body.

Saturn has a remarkably low density — on average it is lighter than water. This leads to the famous comparison that "if there were a bathtub big enough to hold Saturn, the planet would float."

It also spins very quickly, completing one rotation in only about 10.7 hours. This rapid spin flattens the planet slightly, and like Jupiter, its atmosphere shows banded stripes.

Trivia

Many moons — Saturn is attended by a great many moons. The largest, Titan, is an unusual world in the solar system: a moon that carries a thick atmosphere of its own.

The Cassini spacecraft — The Cassini probe orbited Saturn over a long period, studying the planet, its rings, and its many moons up close and in detail. Much of what we know about Saturn comes from that mission.

In Gravity Weaver

Saturn is the sixth stage of the solar system run (6th of 9). Guide the Solar Shard with your gravity fields and bring it to Saturn to clear the stage.

On top of the Streams and Nebulae from earlier stages, this one introduces the wide Slab Meteor. Because it is a broad obstacle, steering the Solar Shard around it with a Gravity Well calls for a path with a little extra room to spare. Take your time, read where the slab sits, and then draw your field.