| Alight to the sixth planet from the sun, a | | | | for it. |
| haloed, vaporous tumult of a world that | | | | |
| promises to exhilarate your senses and reveal | | | | (Caution! Do take heed of storm alerts. The |
| celestial secrets from the Milky Way's | | | | Dragon Storm espied in 2004 was |
| distant past. | | | | extraordinarily persistent and dangerous, |
| | | | with unpredictable, fatal plumes and |
| Overview | | | | flare-ups.) |
| | | | |
| Saturn has for centuries been a numinous | | | | What to Expect |
| enigma in the night sky; from its historic, | | | | |
| mythological perception as the ominous, | | | | Although Saturn generates more energy than it |
| evil-eyed figure who could scald onlookers | | | | gleans from the sun, its outlying distance |
| with one swift gaze to its modern-day | | | | from the stellar mass amounts to an average |
| intrigue surrounding its many dozens of | | | | temperature of -288 degrees fahrenheit (-178 |
| glimmering satellites and dynamically charged | | | | Degrees Centigrade), three times colder than |
| magnetosphere. | | | | the most frigid temperature noted in |
| | | | Antarctica. Add to that easterly equatorial |
| "An arduous, seven year journey that will | | | | winds approximating 1,100 mph (500 meters |
| likely exercise your patience and endurance." | | | | second), and the climate well surpasses |
| | | | traditional notions of inhabitable |
| Deferring only to Jupiter in size, Saturn is | | | | environments - sounding downright inhumane. |
| the second largest planet in our solar system | | | | However, offsetting this cacophonous |
| - with a volume 755 times more massive than | | | | turbulence is Saturn's surprisingly ethereal |
| the Earth - and bears a similarly Jovian | | | | form: it boasts the remarkable distinction of |
| composition of gaseous hydrogen and helium. | | | | being the only planet in our solar system |
| Volatile at its core and emanating enormous | | | | that is less dense than water. So while the |
| heat, the gas giant's nebulous surface | | | | climate is undoubtedly severe, the payoff |
| appears at once luminous and wind-streaked. | | | | will leave you literally floating - and |
| Meanwhile, its body, swathed in rings of | | | | swirling - in the clouds. |
| crushed rock and ice, pirouettes with | | | | |
| spellbinding velocity, dizzying around its | | | | Sightseeing |
| axis in just under 11 hours. | | | | |
| | | | Your Saturnian voyage may seem a futuristic |
| Getting There | | | | sci-fi tale of the deep-space variety, but |
| | | | its superficial mystique belies a deeper |
| Traveling to Saturn will be an unforgettable | | | | story - one that may date as far back as the |
| part of your holiday adventure, and is in no | | | | origins of the solar system itself. Behold |
| way expeditious. Located past the Asteroid | | | | your surroundings, rife with hydrogen and |
| Belt, and ensconced in solar orbit between | | | | helium, and embodying slight traces of water, |
| Jupiter and Uranus, Saturn is a mind-bending | | | | methane, and ammonia; and experience the |
| 792,948,880 miles from Earth, making for an | | | | primordial conditions of our solar system. |
| arduous, seven-year journey that will likely | | | | |
| exercise your patience and endurance. | | | | Meanwhile, Saturn's largest-known moon, |
| (Insider's tip: A bevy of books and music | | | | Titan, just one of many in the planet's |
| will prove critical to your sanity and, | | | | complex lunar circuitry, commands a thick, |
| thusly, will be duly appreciated by your | | | | burgeoning atmosphere suggestive of Earth's |
| fellow spacecraft mates.) | | | | newborn years. |
| | | | |
| Once your shuttle arrives in Saturn's | | | | Lastly, no visit would be complete without a |
| gravitational grasp, you will need to | | | | proper flyby through the gaps and spokes of |
| transfer to a smaller vessel (maximum | | | | Saturn's radiant rings. Navigate your way in |
| capacity: two persons) specially designed to | | | | and around the A Ring to the Encke Gap and |
| withstand the planet's harsh outer | | | | Cassini Division for your best and safest |
| atmosphere. There is no turning back at this | | | | bet, obtaining a close-up view of the |
| point, and rest assured, your fancy camera, | | | | formative ring elements: dust-encrusted rock |
| if not your fledgling soul, will thank you | | | | and ice. Godspeed! |