What Is Saturn Made Of?
Many believe that Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system, is just a gas giant, but that is not entirely correct. Saturn is one of the most complex, least explored and poorly understood planets. Only four NASA missions made it near Saturn. Three only flew by the giant. Cassini orbited Saturn 294 times before doing a death-dive into the planet, breaking up in the upper atmosphere.
The information that Cassini gathered is still being used to understand Saturn, its moons, and rings. Saturn is considered a mini-solar system. It has a total of 82 moons. There is so much to see near Saturn that focuses on the planet itself has been somewhat lost. Scientists agree that Saturn has no life conditions, but some of its moon's, like Titan, are being considered for their habitable potential.
Related: What Are Saturn's Rings Made Of & What Do They Look Like?
NASA's standing theory is that Saturn does not have a solid surface and is mainly made of hydrogen H2 and helium He. The planet would have a small dense core of metals like iron and nickel in its center, surrounded by rocky material. The core itself is believed to be enveloped by liquid metallic hydrogen with an exterior layer of liquid hydrogen. A recent study challenges this theory. Using data from Cassini, they say the study found that the core is not tiny but significantly larger, about 60 percent of the planet's diameter. This study says the core is not entirely solid either, but rather «fuzzy.»
Caltech scientists recently used data from Cassini to study "waves" on Saturn's rings. These waves are caused by the oscillation of the planet, its geological activity. They used the rings like a giant seismographer to determine Saturn's inner composition. The results
Read more on screenrant.com
