Saturn
Saturn has the same bands of colour that are also found on Jupiter; however, they are much fainter than those found on Jupiter. This is a result of the colder temperatures found on Saturn. Because of these temperatures, the chemicals that have the beautiful colours are found deep in the atmosphere are therefore not visible. They are much wider near the equator than they are at the poles. The colours seen in the image to the left are not actual colours found on Saturn. Instead, they differences between colours has been enhanced to make it easier to distinguish between different colours.
The sharp lines separating different colous is a result of bands and zones. These bands and zones alternate as you move from the south to the north, or from the north to the south. A belt is a low pressure system that wraps around the whole planet. A zone is the same thing, except it is a high pressure system. Also, the winds in the bands and zones flow in opposite directions. These winds are called zonal winds.
The clouds have been been grouped into bands: EZ-equatorial zone, NEB-north equatorial belt, NTrZ-north tropical zone, mid-latitueds, and polar regions. The same classification system exists for the southern part of the planet. The southern himisphere is a mirror image of the northern, except for the Great Red Spot. This spot is much smaller than the one on Jupiter, and is found at a different latitude. In addition, two brown ovals were discovered in the northern hemisphere. The difference in colour is a result of different molecules in the atmosphere. There are three levels of clouds called clouddecks and they are found mostly within the troposhere. Each of these clouddecks are composed of a different material: one of ammonia, one of ammonia hydrosulfide, and one of water (in order of highest to lowest). An image of the clouddecks is useful to visualize their positions.
Saturn has a strong magnetosphere, but it is much weaker than that of Jupiter. It consists of a donut shaped "cloud" consisting of electrons and atomic nuclei. These particles come from solar wind and from the rings. It covers a large area, fluctuating around 2 million kilometres in the direction of the Sun, and farther in the direction away from the Sun. Unlike Jupiter and Earth, this field is aligned with Saturn's axis of rotation. In fact, before the magnetosphere was measured, scientists believed that a magnetosphere would never be aligned with the axis of rotation. Saturn proved them wrong. A more detailed explanation is available. You can also find a diagram of the magnetosphere.
The voyager missions found aurora similar to that found on Earth such as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis). However, unlike Earth, this aurora was found a both mid- and high-latitude locations. While we can explain the high-latitude aurora, we are unable to the formation at mid-latitudes. This large amount of aurora activity can cause complex molecules, called complex hydrocarbons, to form. Radio signals are believed to be formed when aurora is created. A detailed explanation is available.
Saturn is very different from Earth in that life as we know it could not survive on Saturn. First, to get to the "surface" you would have to survive the strong winds and atmospheric pressure. Even then you would find a world without any land. Instead of land, Saturn is covered by liquid hydrogen, thousands of kilometres deep. On top of this, the atmosphere is mostly made of hydrogen, so we would be unable to breathe the air.
In Greek mythology, Saturn is called Cronos, the son of Uranus and Gaia. He is one of the Titans, and in fact led his brothers and sisters in defeating his parents. He became the "king" of the gods, and then married his sister, Rhea. They had six children, but Cronos ate all of them except for one. He was fearful that any children would overthrow him and become king. He missed eating this last child because Rhea tricked him into eating a rock instead of the child. This one child that he did not eat, Zeus, did in fact overthrow him as he had feared. In Roman mythology, Saturn is the God of Agriculture and was the king of a fertile region of land on the banks of the Tiber. He was taught argiculture by Janus. Saturn performed great work for Janus, so she invited him to share the region with her. Janus was not his wife. His wife was Ops.In modern day, Saturn is found in the word "Saturday."
