This is part of a whole solar-system model that spans north Georgia.
Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system. It’s sixth from the Sun, after Jupiter (the first largest) and before Uranus. Its diameter is 114,630km⁘. Saturn’s orbital distance from the Sun is 1,426,725,410km or 9.54AU or 79.3 light-min⁘.
The model of Saturn is 1.915m in diameter⁘, and is 23.43km distant⁘ from the Georgia Capitol dome in Downtown Atlanta.
Saturn is most well-known for its rings. It is not the only planet with rings—just that the others’ are not nearly as dense or bright. The rings are not smooth and continuous, but are made of rocks that orbit and bump into each other. A rock in orbit has some speed, and a rock just a little closer to the planet has a slightly faster speed. The constituent parts of the rings are thus constantly rubbing and tumbling over and past each other. Most of the rings orbit 7000 to 80,000km above Saturn’s equator.
Saturn has at least 62 moons!
Saturn’s largest moon is Titan. It’s the second largest moon in the solar system, and it’s larger than the planet Mercury. It’s 5,151km in diameter⁘, while Mercury is 4,879km and Earth’s moon is 3,474km. Titan is the only known moon with a significant atmosphere. Titan orbits at about 10 Saturn diameters from Saturn’s center.⁘
The second largest moon of Saturn, Rhea, may have rings of its own! Rhea might have an internal liquid-water ocean, kept from freezing by heat from radioactive decay.
This is the largest body in the solar system that is known not to be at rest from internal pressure acting against gravity or other forces. It has a massive equatorial ridge around most of it. It has a bright side and a dark side, and it’s tidally locked so the same face always points toward Saturn.
Tethys has the lowest density of all the major moons of the solar system. It’s composed of water ice, almost entirely, which makes it reflect a lot of light, making it the second brightest moon of Saturn, even though it’s really small at 1060km.
This moon is is like a cross-country-skiing paradise. It’s covered with a sheet of fresh, clean water ice because over 100 ice volcanoes spew a ton of ice up every 5 seconds, and that eventually falls back to ground. What ice doesn’t fall back to Enceladus, escapes to contribute to the E ring of Saturn, a hazy unstable ring that will disappear very quickly if Enceladus ever stops erupting.
Mimas is the smallest known body to be rounded off in shape from its own gravitation.