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The Ringed Planet
A Saturn Almanac
(CNN) -- Wrapped in its alluring rings and surrounded by at least 18 mysterious moons, Saturn is the only planet that evokes more fascination and inquiry than Mars.
Three spacecraft -- Pioneer 11 in 1979 and Voyagers 1 and 2 in 1980 and 1981 -- conducted brief reconnaissances of the planet. But what they revealed, primarily through tantalizing pictures, only whetted scientific appetites for a more thorough investigation.
"We saw a lot of things we just don't understand," Dr. Dennis Matson, the chief Cassini project scientist, said recently.
Here's what we do know about the ringed planet, pre-Cassini:
It's Big, but Light
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. Its mass is equal to 95 Earths.
But ... it also is the only planet with a density less than 1 gram per cubic centimeter. That means it would float in an ocean -- if you could find one big enough.
Mystery Moons
As if 18 moons weren't enough. In 1995, scientists using the Hubble Space telescope sighted objects near Saturn that might be four new moons.
What's in the Rings?
The Voyager missions revealed that Saturn's large and apparently symmetrical rings visible from Earth actually are composed of many smaller rings made up of rocks and ice particles ranging in size from sugar grains to small houses.
Galileo's Glimpse
The great discoverer Galileo observed the peculiar appearance of Saturn as early as 1610. But he was not able to recognize the true shape of the features on either side of the planet. It was not until almost 50 years later that the astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered that the shapes were really rings.
In the Forecast...
At Saturn's equator, winds blow at 1,100 mph.
Short Days, Long Years
The Saturn day lasts just 10 hours and 39 minutes. The Saturn year equals 29 and a half Earth years.
What's in the Name?
Saturn is named for the father of Jupiter in Roman mythology. Saturn was the Roman god of fertility and farming.
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