Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by QCity Editorial Stuff
Jupiter and Saturn are both gas giants, but they have some key differences. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system with a diameter of 142,984 km. It has bands around it that can be seen through telescopes. Saturn’s average radius is 60,268 kilometers and its atmosphere contains hydrogen molecules, ammonia ice crystals, and water vapor. The rings of Saturn are made up of chunks of ice that form as the moon Enceladus orbits the planet. However, Jupiter does not have any rings to speak of- only faint traces on its uppermost cloud layer.
The distance between Jupiter and Saturn varies on how far away they are from Earth at any given time, but their average distances are 778 million miles for Jupiter and 1.2 billion miles for Saturn. While Jupiter has 67 moons, only eight of these moons have been discovered around Saturn with five being confirmed as satellites orbiting Titan – its largest moon which is larger than Mercury! One difference that sets them apart though is that while there were over 300 known satellites around Jupiter when Voyager 2 made its flyby in 1979, this ss number dwindled to 61 by 2002. Saturn however has 150 confirmed moons, 53 of which are less than 10 kilometers in diameter.
Comparison Between Jupiter And Saturn
| Parameters Of Comparison | Jupiter | Saturn |
| Larger | Larger | Less large |
| Ice crystal | contains ammonia ice crystals | Saturn’s atmosphere does not contain any ices at all |
| Gas | Jupiter has hydrogen gas | Saturn only contains helium gas |
| Ring | Has ring | Has ring |
| Color | Has different color | Has different color |
What Is Jupiter?
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and it’s the fifth closest to the sun. It is often referred to as a gas giant because it has no solid surface–its atmosphere extends for over 1,000 miles below its clouds. Jupiter rotates at about 4 times per minute on its axis, which means that there are 16 days in one Jovian year.
Jupiter’s magnetic field is also very strong–it prevents some of the charged particles from coming in from space! The rings around Saturn are much thinner than those of Jupiter due to their different composition. There are also many more moons orbiting Jupiter compared with Saturn (they have 63!).
The definition of this planet that orbits around the sun, which you are asking about, is the fifth planet from our solar system. It’s known as being a gas giant, meaning it has an atmosphere made up mostly of hydrogen and helium gases. This makes it different than Earth where humans live because there are no solid surfaces on Jupiter. There are also many moons in orbit around Jupiter too.
How does this make me feel? I find this fascinating because I love learning about planets and how they interact with one another in space. Learning about them will hopefully help me learn more about what life is like here on Earth.
What Is Saturn?
Saturn is a planet in the solar system that was named after the Roman god Saturn. It is an average-sized gas giant and has been known for centuries as a planet with rings around it. The rings of Saturn are made up of ice particles and rock debris all orbiting around the equator on one side of the planet. Seven main rings can be seen from the earth using powerful telescopes, but there may also be many smaller ones not visible to us yet because they may not reflect light like those closer to Saturn do (“Saturn”).
To understand the basics of Saturn, it’s important to know what a planet is. “A planet is any large object that orbits a star and has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to make it round.” (NASA) A planet can be classified as either rocky or gas giant like Jupiter. This article will focus on the largest and most famous of all planets: Saturn.
Saturn is located in our solar system between Uranus and Jupiter, making it the sixth planet from the sun. It was first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with his telescope when he noticed that there were gaps in Jupiter’s sidereal band; these gaps would later be known as dark regions due to their lack of light reflecting off them.
10 Differences Between Jupiter And Saturn
Largest Planet: Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and has a radius of 69,911 miles.
Second: Saturn is second to Jupiter and has a radius of 58,232 miles.
Atmosphere: Jupiter’s atmosphere contains ammonia ice crystals while Saturn’s atmosphere does not contain any ices at all.
Gas: The composition of both planets’ atmospheres differ greatly as well – Jupiter has hydrogen gas while Saturn only contains helium gas.
Ring: Both planets have rings around them but they are different materials – Saturn’s rings are made up mostly of water particles while Jupiter’s ring consists mostly of dust particles.
Color: There are also color differences – the colors on Earth come from sunlight bouncing off its surface which reflects the light out into space but due to the lack of air on these two planets, this cannot happen so there isn’t any color coming from these worlds.
Contains: Jupiter’s atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen and helium gases while Saturn’s atmosphere consists mostly of ammonia, methane, and other hydrocarbons.
Degree: The surface temperature on Jupiter can reach up to about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit but only reaches a maximum of minus 350 degrees Fahrenheit for Saturn.
Moon: Jupiter has 16 moons while Saturn has 62 moons.
Hours: The length of one day on both planets is about 10 hours long but it takes 13 days for sunlight to travel from Earth to Jupiter whereas it takes just under 2 days for sunlight to get from Earth to Saturn.
Interesting Statistics Or Facts Of Jupiter
1. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
2. The colors of Jupiter are red, brown, yellow, and white.
3. Over 60 moons are orbiting around Jupiter – more than any other planet in our solar system.
4. It takes 12 Earth years for it to orbit the sun once.
5. Jupiter rotates on its axis at a slower rate than most planets.
6. It has an atmosphere that is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.
Interesting Statistics Or Facts Of Saturn
1. Saturn’s atmosphere is primarily made up of hydrogen, helium, and methane.
2. When the Voyager 2 spacecraft passed by in 1980, it found that Titan had a thick nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
3. The Cassini probe discovered geysers erupting from Enceladus’ southern polar region.
4. Scientists believe that there may be an ocean of water under the surface of Europa.
5. Saturn has 62 moons orbiting around it but only six are large enough to get their names.
6. The rings around Saturn were first observed through Galileo Galilei’s telescope in 1610.
Conclusion About The Differences Between Jupiter And Saturn
The differences between Jupiter and Saturn are vast. If you want to understand the two planets, it pays to look at how they formed in our Solar System’s early years when gases were swirling around a hot sun. It turns out that each planet is made of different materials and has taken on its shape because of its location near or far from the Sun. Understanding these details about both worlds will help us better understand why we see such dramatic variations in gas giants like Uranus and Neptune too.
References:
Resource 01: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/overview/
Resource 02: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn
