How to Assemble the Saturn System Diagram

Transcription

1 How to Assemble the Saturn System Diagram (from the NASA Saturn Educator s Guide). Be sure you have all 4 sections (A, B, C, and D) of the Saturn System Diagram. Place Section B to the right of Section A so they are lined up along the center line, as illustrated below. 2. Place the meterstick over the two sections so that the end 0 mark of the meterstick lines up with the center of Saturn located near the left edge of Section A. Now align your meter stick with the black line running from left to right across the center of each section of the diagram. Adjust the position of Section B to the left or right as needed so that the G ring crosses the center line at 34 cm on the meter stick. When you are certain that it is in position, tape the two sections together. (When the pages are correctly positioned, the horizontal edges may or may not overlap.) Tape them together so that the center lines are continuous, aligned, and straight. Don t tape the meter stick to the sections! 3. Place Section C to the right of Section B; then place D next to C. Adjust Section D to the left or right so that the moon Dione is located at 75.5 cm on the meter stick. When

2 you have Dione in position, tape Sections B, C, and D together. As before, the edges may or may not align. You have now assembled your Saturn System Diagram and you are ready to begin your scavenger hunt!

3 Voyager Image of Saturn Figure It appears that three moons are scattered about Saturn, but in reality, all of Saturn s known moons except the two outermost ones orbit in the same plane as do Saturn s rings. In images, a moon may appear outside Saturn s ring plane because of the moon s position in its orbit and the angle from which the Saturn system is being viewed. The small dark shadow on the surface of Saturn is that of a fourth moon, which does not appear in the image. A similar image of Saturn may be found at < cassini/ Images/ astro/ html>. TOP Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL

4 Saturn Ring System (shown to scale) G RING F RING E RING Figure 2 A RING B RING C RING D RING Colored markers can enchance the visual distinction between rings. CASSINI DIVISION ENCKE GAP EARTH MOON APPROXIMATE DISTANCE BETWEEN EARTH AND ITS MOON Saturn s rings are not located in alphabetical order outward from the planet because they were named in order of their discovery. From inner to outer, the rings are D, C, B, A, F, G, E. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 3

5 Saturn System Diagram (A) ( of 4) Figure 4 B RING Scale: cm = 5,000 km. The radius of Saturn corresponds to the radius of a basketball in this scale diagram. C RING D RING Scale: cm = 5,000 km CENTER OF SATURN (BEGIN MEASUREMENTS FROM THIS POINT) CLOUD TOPS RADIUS OF SATURN DIAMETER OF EARTH SCALED SIZE OF EARTH Cut first, then tape sheets. Do not tape the meter stick to the diagram. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 7

6 Saturn System Diagram (B) (2 of 4) Figure 4 G RING F RING VOYAGER IMAGE OF MIMAS, THE DEATH STAR MOON ENCKE GAP MIMAS CASSINI DIVISION A RING PAN EPIMETHEUS JANUS PANDORA NOTE: TO PRESERVE ACCURATE DISTANCE SCALE, PLACE THIS SECTION SO THAT THE G RING IS LOCATED 34 cm FROM SATURN'S CENTER. SCALE: cm = 5,000 km PROMETHEUS ATLAS Cut first, then tape sheets. Do not tape the meter stick to the diagram. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 8

7 Figure 4 Saturn System Diagram (C) (3 of 4) APPROXIMATE OUTER "EDGE" OF E RING (ESTIMATES VARY FROM 300,000 km to OVER 480,000 km FROM SATURN'S CENTER.) SCALE: cm = 5,000 km TELESTO E RING TETHYS ENCELADUS CALYPSO ICE GEYSER ON ENCELADUS Cut first, then tape sheets. Do not tape the meter stick to the diagram. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 9

8 Figure 4 Saturn System Diagram (D) (4 of 4) SIZE OF EARTH'S MOON TITAN SATURN'S LARGEST MOON DIAMETER OF 5,50 km IS SHOWN TO SCALE HERE. DISTANCE FROM CENTER OF SATURN =,22,900 km. SCALED DISTANCE = 244 cm (2.44 meters). OTHER MOONS: RHEA: 527,000 km (ABOUT meter FROM SATURN s CENTER) HYPERION:,480,000 km (ABOUT 3 meters FROM SATURN s CENTER) IAPETUS: 3,560,000 km (ABOUT 7 meters FROM SATURN s CENTER) PHOEBE: 3,000,000 km (26 meters FROM SATURN s CENTER) NOTE: TO PRESERVE ACCURATE DISTANCE SCALE, PLACE THIS SECTION SO THAT DIONE IS LOCATED 75.5 cm FROM SATURN'S CENTER SCALE: cm = 5,000 km DIONE HELENE NOTE THE BREAK IN THE SCALE HERE Cut first, then tape sheets. Do not tape the meter stick to the diagram. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 20

9 Saturn System Table Moon/Ring Distance from Saturn s Center (cm) Scale Factor (km/cm) Approximate Distance from Saturn s Center (km) Figure 7 D Ring (inner edge) 3.4 5,000 67,000 C Ring (inner edge) 4.9 5,000 74,500 D Ring (outer edge) B Ring (inner edge) 8.4 5,000 92,000 C Ring (outer edge) B Ring (outer edge) ,000 7,500 Cassini Division (inner edge) A Ring (inner edge) ,000 22,000 Cassini Division (outer edge) Encke Gap and Pan ,000 33,500 A Ring (outer edge) ,000 37,000 Atlas ,000 37,500 Prometheus ,000 39,500 F Ring ,000 40,000 Pandora ,000 4,500 Epimetheus and Janus ,000 5,500 G Ring ,000 70,000 E Ring (approx. inner edge) ,000 8,000 Mimas 37. 5,000 85,500 Enceladus , ,000 Tethys, Telesto, and Calypso , ,500 Dione and Helene , ,500 E Ring (approx. outer edge) , ,000 Rhea , ,000 Titan ,000,220,000 Optional: Students can measure the shaded items using the Saturn System Diagram. Saturn Educator Guide Cassini Program website EG JPL 27