100px|Saturn, photographed in July 2008
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter, with an average radius about nine times larger than the Earth's. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus (the Titan father of Zeus), the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol (♄) represents the Roman god's sickle. Along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, Saturn is a gas giant. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian planets, meaning "Jupiter-like". Saturn has a ring system that is divided into nine continuous and three discontinuous main rings (arcs), consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty-two known moons orbit the planet; fifty-three are officially named. This does not include the hundreds of "moonlets" within the rings. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to retain a significant atmosphere. (more...) Recently featured: Tropical Storm Barry (2001) – Macaroni Penguin – School for Creative and Performing Arts Archive – By email – More featured articles... Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1639: English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a transit of Venus. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transit_of_Venus> 1829: Sati, the Hindu funeral custom of widows immolating themselves, was formally abolished in British India after years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29> 1909: The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest professional ice hockey club in the world, was founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Montreal_Canadiens> 1991: Pan American World Airways, which was the principal international airline of the United States and which was credited with many innovations, ended operations. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_World_Airways> 2006: Six black youths in Jena, Louisiana, US, assaulted a white teenager; the subsequent court case would become a cause célèbre. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: church key (n): A can opener having a triangular tip that pierces the can <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/church_key> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. --Edith Cavell <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
