University District in Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Saturn
← Uranus - Jupiter →
Gas Giant
Average Distance: 9.5 AU
Orbital Period: 29.4 years
Rotational Period: 10 hours 39 minutes
Mass (Earth = 1): 95.2
Diameter (Earth = 1): 9.45
Number of Moons: 82
Largest Moon: Titan: 1.48 Lunar Diameters
Average Temperature: -218°F / -139°C
Atmosphere: Hydrogen (H2) 96.3%, Helium 3.2%, Methane (CH4) 0.45%
Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, is a gas giant like Jupiter but only 1/3 as massive. Saturn's dramatic rings are composed of countless moonlets made primarily of water ice that orbit the planet in a layer 150,000 miles across but only about 100 yards thick. Visits by the Voyager and Cassini space missions revealed intricate structures in the rings, shaped in part by gravitational pulls from Saturn's many moons.
It takes 1 hour and 19 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to Saturn.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched on August 20, 1977. It traveled for 4 years to reach Saturn.
Erected by The Ohio State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Astronomy.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. A significant historical date for this entry is August 20, 1977.
Location. 40° 0.241′ N,
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Scioto Valley. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Battelle Walls of Honor and Remembrance (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Remembrance Park (about 300 feet away); Colonel George L. Converse, Jr. (about 300 feet away); General Curtis LeMay (about 300 feet away); General Maryanne Miller (about 300 feet away); General John (Mike) Murray
Credits. This page was last revised on February 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 197 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 29, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
