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What is the rotation period of Saturn?
Basic astronomical data
| Planetary data for Saturn | |
|---|---|
| rotation period (magnetic field) | 10 hr 39 min 24 sec (Voyager era); about 10 hr 46 min (Cassini-Huygens mission) |
| inclination of equator to orbit | 26.7° |
| magnetic field strength at equator | 0.21 gauss |
| number of known moons | 62 |
How does Saturn rotate?
Saturn rotates about once every 10.5 hours. The planet’s high-speed spin causes Saturn to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles. The planet is around 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) across at its equator, and 68,000 miles (109,000 km) from pole to pole.
Does Saturn rotate on its axis?
Saturn takes about 10.7 hours (no one knows precisely) to rotate on its axis once—a Saturn “day”—and 29 Earth years to orbit the sun.
How big is the orbit of Saturn?
Because its orbit is elliptical – with an eccentricity of 0.05555 – its distance from the Sun ranges from 1.35 billion km (838.8 million mi; 9.024 AU) at its closest (perihelion) to 1.509 billion km (937.6 million mi; 10.086 AU) at its farthest (aphelion). With an average orbital speed of 9.69 km/s, it takes Saturn 29.
How long is the orbit of Saturn?
29 years
Saturn/Orbital period
Does Saturn rotate fast?
We have long known that Saturn also rotates much slower than its break-up speed (11 hr compared to 4 hr). And as Eckhart summarized in his December astrobite, we now know gas giant exoplanets also rotate slower than expected.
How long does it take Saturn to orbit the Sun?
How many days does Saturn take to orbit the Sun?
Saturn/Orbital period
Orbit and Rotation Saturn has the second-shortest day in the solar system. One day on Saturn takes only 10.7 hours (the time it takes for Saturn to rotate or spin around once), and Saturn makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Saturnian time) in about 29.4 Earth years (10,756 Earth days).
How much time does Saturn take to rotate on its axis?
Historically, scientists believed that it takes Saturn 10.656 hours to rotate on its axis or about 10 hours and 39 minutes. More recently, astronomers received satellite messages indicating that the length of Saturn’s day is closer to 10 hours and 45 minutes. Scientists do not believe that the planet has actually slowed its rotation.
How far is Saturn from the sun does it orbit?
Saturn’s average distance from the Sun is 1,400,000,000 km. The average orbital speed of Saturn is 9.69 km/s. It takes the earth 365 days to orbit the sun, Saturn takes 10,759 Earth days (or about 29½ years), to revolve around the sun; a year on Saturn is equivalent to 29.5 Earth years.
What do planets orbit Saturn?
It is bigger than planet Mercury. Titan orbits Saturn, which orbits the Sun at a distance of about 886 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers), about 10 times farther from the Sun than Earth orbits. The same side of Titan always faces Saturn, so Titan takes 16 days to orbit Saturn and to rotate once.
Which planet orbits the Sun fastest?
Mercury is the fastest, taking about 3 months to orbit the Sun once. It is also the fastest planet in terms of orbital speed, travelling roughly 48km/s (the Earth has an orbital speed of about 30km/s).