Saturn

Saturn is the second biggest planet, after Jupiter. Like Jupiter, it is giant ball of gas. Saturn is a favourite planetet among astronomers because of its shining rings. The rings appear to change shape year by year as the planet makes its way round the Sun.

Saturn is a gas giant, which means that it is composed mainly of gas and liquid gas. Its cloudly atmosphere is made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Below that lies a vast, deep ocean of liquid hydrogen in the form of liquid metal. At the centre of the planet, there is a small core of rock.

Saturn is a very cloudy planet. The clouds form into bands parallel to the equator because the planet is spinning round so fast. These bands are not as easy to see as they are on Jupiter because of the haze that tops the atmosphere. There seem to be three main cloud layers on Saturn, located at different levels, with clear areas in between. The upper layers of clouds are made up of ammonia and ammonium compounds. At the lowest level, the clouds seem to be made up water and ice particles, like the clouds we have on Earth.