How Long Is A Day On Saturn?

How long does Saturn take to rotate?

About 10 hours, 33 minutes. According to NASA, Saturn has the second-shortest day of any planet in our solar system, after Jupiter (which rotates in just under 10 hours). The exact rotation period has been hard to pin down because Saturn is a gas giant with no solid surface to track. Different latitudes rotate at slightly different speeds, and the deep interior may rotate differently than the visible cloud tops.

How is Saturn's rotation measured?

Mostly through its magnetic field. Saturn's magnetic field is tied to the rotation of the planet's interior, so radio signals tied to the magnetic field provide a clock. NASA's Cassini mission measured these signals between 2004 and 2017 and found slight variations, suggesting the interior may not rotate as a single rigid body. The current best estimate of 10 hours 33 minutes is based on Cassini data analyzing internal oscillations and ring waves, an unusual approach made possible by the rings themselves.

What does fast rotation do to Saturn?

It flattens the planet noticeably. Saturn is the most oblate (squashed) of all the planets, with the equatorial diameter about 10 percent larger than the pole-to-pole diameter. That bulge is far more pronounced than Earth's tiny 0.3 percent bulge and even more dramatic than Jupiter's 6 percent. The fast rotation combined with Saturn's low density (mostly hydrogen and helium) means the centrifugal effect at the equator is strong enough to visibly stretch the planet outward.

How long is a Saturn year?

About 29.5 Earth years, or roughly 10,759 Earth days. Saturn moves slowly through its orbit because of its great distance from the Sun, taking nearly three decades to complete one trip. This means humans typically experience only two or three Saturn years in a lifetime, while Saturn rotates many thousands of times. Saturn's axial tilt is about 26.7 degrees, similar to Earth's, which gives Saturn distinct seasons, each lasting about 7 Earth years.