Saturn - The Ringed Planet
jewel of the solar system
"Our solar system is fantastically bizarre. There are worlds with features we never imagined. Storms larger than planets, moons with under-surface oceans, lakes of methane, worldlets that swap places...and that's just at Saturn."
- Phil Plait"For me, it was my first cosmic connection, on par with a first kiss. No other planet looks as unworldly or surreal as Saturn. When you see it floating in the eyepiece of your telescope, you feel as if you've uncovered mystery in the cosmos."
- Carolyn Porco
About the Music
Imagine sometime in the future when a manned flight to Saturn is possible...
- Your rocket ship takes off...
The soundscape starts out with a percussion groove built from a strange variety of acoustic sounds (a PVC pipe, hard plastic pieces and even rolling my fingers on my wooden synth stand!). - ... You fly by Mars and Jupiter on your way to Saturn...
The trombone jumps in at the start of the main groove and is joined by other trombones on the B section. - ...You finally reach Saturn and are stunned by the beauty of the rings us you get nearer and nearer to the planet...
The leisurely solo section. - ...Your spaceship settles into an orbit around the planet and you get magnificent closeups of its moons, its rings and its mysterious churning atmosphere.
The tune fades out slowly on a series of overlapping short sequences.
© Richard Coffey - All Rights Reserved
Saturn
Known as the jewel of the solar system, Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the solar system. Although Saturn has been known since prehistoric times because it was easily visible to the naked eye, it wasn't until the invention of the telescope that people observed Saturn's magnificent rings.
- Rings
Saturn's rings are composed of a collection of particles that range in size from a grain of sand to a car. The rings are comprised of both ice and rock particles. The rings are divided into 7 major ring divisions and possess intricate structure and complex gravitational interactions. Read more about Saturn's rings on the NASA page » - Moons
Saturn has 146 moons in its orbit, more than any other planet. The moons range in size from larger than the planet Mercury: the giant moon Titan—to as small as a sports arena. The small moon Enceladus has a global ocean under a thick, icy shell. Scientists have identified both moons as high-priority science destinations for future deep space missions. Read more about Saturn's moons on the NASA page »