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The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet in the Solar System after Jupiter .
A rendering of the magnetic field lines of the magnetosphere of the Earth. In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. [1] [2] It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynamo.
Fainter planetary rings can form as a result of meteoroid impacts with moons orbiting around the planet or, in the case of Saturn's E-ring, the ejecta of cryovolcanic material. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Ring systems may form around centaurs when they are tidally disrupted in a close encounter (within 0.4 to 0.8 times the Roche limit ) with a giant planet.
The planet also has very low internal heat compared to other giant planets, the cause of which remains unclear. Like the other giant planets, Uranus has a ring system, a magnetosphere, and many natural satellites. The extremely dark ring system reflects only about 2% of the incoming light.
The outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, compared to the inner planets Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury at the bottom right The four outer planets, called giant planets or Jovian planets, collectively make up 99% of the mass orbiting the Sun. [ h ] All four giant planets have multiple moons and a ring system, although only Saturn's ...
Radiation belts exist around other planets and moons in the solar system that have magnetic fields powerful and stable enough to sustain them. Radiation belts have been detected at Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus and Neptune through in-situ observations, such as by Galileo (spacecraft) and Juno (spacecraft) at Jupiter, Cassini–Huygens at Saturn and ...
As a result, Saturn's magnetosphere is much smaller than Jupiter's. [82] When Voyager 2 entered the magnetosphere, the solar wind pressure was high and the magnetosphere extended only 19 Saturn radii, or 1.1 million km (684,000 mi), [83] although it enlarged within several hours, and remained so for about three days. [84]
The rings would initially have been much more massive (≈1,000 times) and broader than at present; material in the outer portions of the rings would have coalesced into the innermost moons of Saturn (those closest to Saturn), out to Tethys, also explaining the lack of rocky material in the composition of most of these moons. [65]