Saturn is the crown jewel of the solar system, beautiful and fascinating. It is a gas giant, and has a broad set of rings made of ice particles. Moons create gaps in the rings via their gravity. Saturn has dozens of moons, including Titan, which is as big as Mercury and has a thick atmosphere and lakes of methane; and Enceladus which has an undersurface ocean and eruptions of water geysers. While we are still uncertain, it is entirely possible that either or both moons may support life.
This episode was brought to you by Squarespace http://www.squarespace.com
—
Table of Contents
Saturn is a Gas Giant 0:33
Moons Create Gaps in the Ice Rings 5:17
Dozens of Moons 6:18
Titan’s Methane Lakes 7:56
Enceladus’s Water Geysers 8:33
Life Potential 9:30
—
PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios
Follow Phil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/badastronomer
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse
Tumblr – http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com
Support CrashCourse on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse
—
PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Saturn http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/saturn/images/IMG004899.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/G. Ugarkovic]
Interiors http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/gas_interiors.jpg [credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute]
Saturn Ring Plane Crossing http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/large/opo9616a.jpg [credit: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Lab) and NASA/ESA]
Translucent Rings http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA18295 [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute]
Catching its Tail http://www.ciclops.org/view_media/34501/Catching_Its_Tail?js=1 [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute]
Enter the Vortex http://www.ciclops.org/view_media/38030/Enter_the_Vortex_In_Psychedelic_Color [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
The Rose http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14944.html#.VSwz-5TF_Z0 [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Ice http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/205796main_PIA10081-hires.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/University of Colorado]
Saturn’s rings to scale http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/05/02/saturn_s_rings_to_scale_thinner_than_paper.html [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Saturn’s Ring Plane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn#/media/File:Saturn%27s_ring_plane.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute – Cassini-Huygens/NASA]
Saturn http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/saturn/images/IMG004899.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/G. Ugarkovic]
Shaping the Drapes (video) http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=1361&js=1 [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Peaks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn#/media/File:PIA11668_B_ring_peaks_2x_crop.jpg [credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab / Space Science Institute]
Mimas Cassini http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimas_(moon)#/media/File:Mimas_Cassini.jpg [credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute]
Cassini NAC RGB https://www.flickr.com/photos/ugordan/6896462870/sizes/o/in/photostream/ [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/G. Ugarkovic]
Titan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon)#/media/File:Titan2005.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Titan’s Nile River http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2012/11/Titan_s_Nile_River [credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/ASI]
Lakes http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA17655_fig1.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/USGS]
Enceladus http://www.ciclops.org/view_media/39541/Bursting-at-the-Seams [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Iapetus Ridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_ridge#/media/File:Iapetus_706_1419_1.jpg [credit: NASA (Cassini probe), Matt McIrvin (image mosaic)]
Hyperion http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/1507_3730_1.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute]
Saturn eclipse mosaic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn#/media/File:PIA17172_Saturn_eclipse_mosaic_bright_crop.jpg [credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute]
){kind=link}
Those Kerbal Space Program figurines though…
isnt enceladus responsible for some of the debris in the F ring as well?
i like saturn rings but not just that
I laughed when Thought Cafe made 5 year old Phil bald.
A few years back I was on vacation in Florida. It was a warm evening and Saturn was up. Lots of people were drifting in and out of the beach bar. I clamped a pair of binoculars onto my camera tripod, aimed at Saturn, and we all took turns having a look. One of the best evenings of my life.
so much CGI… Why dont you show a real photo? None of these "pictures of saturn" look alike.. i call B.S.
I've never seen Saturn through a Telescope when I'd the best time to look
I like your kerbals
Jeb, Bill and Bob!,,
Hyperion is such a cool name.
Cant wait to take an astronomy course!
I LOVE SATURN
I can't wait to see Saturn! This show is truly inspiring! The host is so passionate about astronomy he makes it all sound so poetic and fascinating (It is of course, but I never had a teacher like him.)
I've seen saturn through a telescope once when i was about 15 years old at a boy scout camp. I just recently got into astronomy and I can't wait to get my own telescope and looking at Saturn once again.
Astronomy IS fun!!!
If you play this in 0.5 speed, he sounds stoned and like he's just coming up with these theories. The best is 00:58 xD
6:25 thats no moon