What Is The Gravity On Saturn?
QUICK ANSWER
Saturn's gravity at the cloud tops is about 10.4 m/s², roughly 7 percent stronger than Earth's 9.81 m/s². A 150-pound person on Earth would weigh about 160 pounds on Saturn. Despite Saturn being much larger than Earth, its low density keeps its surface gravity surprisingly close to Earth's.
Saturn is the most surprising planet for gravity. Despite being nearly 10 times Earth's diameter and 95 times Earth's mass, Saturn's surface gravity is only slightly stronger than Earth's. The low density makes the math work out to something almost familiar.
How strong is Saturn's gravity?
About 10.4 m/s², or roughly 107 percent of Earth's gravity. According to NASA, Saturn's gravity at the cloud tops is barely stronger than Earth's surface gravity. This is unusual: Saturn is 95 times more massive than Earth, which would normally produce much stronger gravity. The reason Saturn's gravity isn't much stronger is that Saturn is so big. The cloud tops are far from the planet's center, which weakens the gravitational pull at the surface.
How much would I weigh on Saturn?
Take your Earth weight and multiply by about 1.07. A 150-pound person on Earth would weigh about 160 pounds on Saturn. A 200-pound person would weigh about 214 pounds. Of course, you couldn't actually stand on Saturn because there's no surface to stand on. The weight figures assume you're at the visible cloud-top level, where Saturn's measured gravity applies. Deeper in the planet, the effective gravity changes as you move closer to the core.
Why isn't Saturn's gravity stronger?
Because Saturn is so spread out. Gravity depends on both mass and distance from a planet's center. Saturn has plenty of mass (95 times Earth's), but Saturn's radius is also 9.5 times Earth's, so points on Saturn's surface are much farther from its center than points on Earth's surface. The increased distance roughly cancels out the extra mass. The result is a planet 95 times more massive than Earth with only slightly stronger surface gravity. Saturn's low density (mostly hydrogen and helium) is what spreads its mass out so dramatically.
How does Saturn's gravity compare to other planets?
Saturn's gravity is the weakest of the gas giants. Jupiter's gravity is about 24.79 m/s², or 2.5 times Earth's, much stronger than Saturn. Uranus's gravity is about 8.87 m/s² (slightly weaker than Earth's), and Neptune's is about 11.15 m/s² (slightly stronger than Earth's). All four gas giants have gravity reasonably close to Earth's despite being vastly more massive, for the same reason: their large size puts the cloud tops far from the planet's center.
Saturn's gravity is about 7 percent stronger than Earth's, which is one of the most surprising facts about the second-largest planet in our solar system. The low density and huge size combine to produce a planet that's 95 times more massive than Earth but only slightly stronger gravitationally. Saturn is the planet where your weight wouldn't even noticeably change.
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