Natural Satellites
Saturn has at least 62 moons, 53 of which have formal names. Titan, the largest, comprises more than 90% of the mass in orbit around Saturn, including the rings. Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, may have a tenuous ring system of its own, along with a tenuous atmosphere. Many of the other moons are very small: 34 are less than 10 km in diameter and another 14 less than 50 km. Traditionally, most of Saturn's moons have been named after Titans of Greek mythology. Titan is the only satellite in the Solar System with a major atmosphere in which a complex organic chemistry occurs. It is the only satellite with hydrocarbon lakes.
Saturn's moon Enceladus has often been regarded as a potential base for microbial life. Evidence of this life includes the satellite's salt-rich particles having an "ocean-like" composition that indicates most of Enceladus's expelled ice comes from the evaporation of liquid salt water.
Read more about this topic: Saturn
Famous quotes containing the words natural and/or satellites:
“The home is a woman’s natural background.... From the beginning I tried to have the policy of the store reflect as nearly as it was possible in the commercial world, those standards of comfort and grace which are apparent in a lovely home.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“To the Japanese, Portugal and Russia are neutral enemies, England and America are belligerent enemies, and Germany and her satellites are friendly enemies. They draw very fine distinctions.”
—Jerome Cady, U.S. screenwriter, and Lewis Milestone. Peter Voroshevski (Howard Clinton?)