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    RESFSDAFDFAS

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    Mega Shows

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    RESFSDAFDFAS

    Uploaded by

    Mega Shows
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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    3 views3 pages

    RESFSDAFDFAS

    Uploaded by

    Mega Shows

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    DSFADFASFAWEFSAF

    DSFASDFSA

    RGWERF

    ASDFAts estimated that the core must be 9–22 times the


    [44][45]
    mass of Earth, which corresponds to a diameter of
    [46]
    about 25,000 km (16,000 mi). However, measurements
    of Saturn's rings suggest a much more diffuse core, with a
    mass equal to about 17 Earths and a radius equal to about
    [47]
    60% of Saturn's entire radius. This is surrounded by a
    thicker, liquid metallic hydrogen layer, followed by a liquid
    layer of helium-saturated molecular hydrogen, which
    gradually transitions to a gas as altitude increases. The
    outermost layer spans about 1,000 km (620 mi) and
    [48][49][50]
    consists of gas.

    Saturn has a hot interior, reaching 11,700 °C (21,100 °F)


    at its core, and radiates 2.5 times more energy into space
    than it receives from the Sun. Jupiter's thermal energy is
    generated by the Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism of slow
    gravitational compression; but such a process alone may
    not be sufficient to explain heat production for Saturn,
    because it is less massive. An alternative or additional
    mechanism may be the generation of heat through the
    "raining out" of droplets of helium deep in Saturn's interior.
    As the droplets descend through the lower-density
    hydrogen, the process releases heat by friction and leaves
    [51][52]
    Saturn's outer layers depleted of helium. These
    descending droplets may have accumulated into a helium
    [42]
    shell surrounding the core. Rainfalls of diamonds have
    been suggested to occur within Saturn, as well as in
    [53] [54]
    Jupiter and ice giants Uranus and Neptune.

    Atmosphere

    The outer atmosphere of Saturn contains 96.3% molecular


    hydrogen and 3.25% helium by volume. The proportion of
    helium is significantly deficient compared to the
    [42]
    abundance of this element in the Sun. The quantity of
    elements heavier than helium (metallicity) is not known
    precisely, but the proportions are assumed to match the
    primordial abundances from the formation of the Solar
    System. The total mass of these heavier elements is
    estimated to be 19–31 times the mass of Earth, with a
    [55]
    significant fraction located in Saturn's core region.

    Trace amounts of ammonia, acetylene, ethane, propane,


    phosphine, and methane have been detected in Saturn's
    [56][57][58]
    atmosphere. The upper clouds are composed of
    ammonia crystals, while the lower level clouds appear to
    consist of either ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH) or
    [59]
    water. Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun causes
    methane photolysis in the upper atmosphere, leading to a
    series of hydrocarbon chemical reactions with the resulting
    products being carried downward by eddies and diffusion.
    This photochemical cycle is modulated by Saturn's annual
    [58]
    seasonal cycle. Cassini observed a series of cloud
    features found in northern latitudes, nicknamed the "String
    of Pearls". These features are cloud clearings that reside
    [60]
    in deeper cloud layers.

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