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