If you are looking for a vacation destination that is out of the ordinary, you might want to consider Saturn. There are so many phenomena that you will have difficulty deciding which to see first. Saturn's golden hue against the darkness of space is breathtaking and the majesty of its multi-colored rings is awesome.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the solar system second only to Jupiter. Its diameter is 74,600 miles at the equator. Saturn orbits the sun at a distance of 840 million miles and takes 29.5 years to complete a revolution. It takes 10 hours and 39 minutes to make a complete rotation on its own axis. The only planet in this solar system to rotate faster would be Jupiter.

There is no solid surface to Saturn. It is a large body of gases. Therefore, covering this planet, will have to be done in one of the hovers provided in the spacecraft. Belts of varying colors rest on Saturn's clouds. These are areas made up of poisonous gases such as methane and ammonia. Because it is so cold, the gases have frozen and formed crystals.

Saturn experiences very strong winds. Some wind reach speeds of over 1,000 miles per hour. Scientists have been watching a storm just below Saturn's equator that they see as a big red oval spot. The atmosphere is about 75% hydrogen and 25% helium, and it penetrates the planet's interior more than most. There is even evidence that except for Saturn's innermost core, it is actually a mixture of hydrogen and helium in a liquid form.

In September, 1979, Earth's spacecraft, Pioneer 11, was the first to visit Saturn as it flew within 13,000 miles of its surface. In November 1980, Voyager 1 flew within 78,000 miles and in the end of August, 1981, Voyager II flew within 63,000 miles this planet.

In these fly-bys more information was learned about the rings of Saturn. Prior to these missions, scientists believed that there were only three or four rings, or six at the most. this was because two prominent rings and a fainter ring can be seen from many of the other planets. Now it is known that there are thousands of very thin rings circling Saturn's equator. Actually some of the larger rings are made of many closely spaced smaller rings or ringlets. The rings are made of primarily of large pieces of ice with particles of dust and rock from less than a quarter inch to bigger than a barn.

Saturn's interior is hot (12, 000 Kelvin at the core). It radiates more energy into space that it gets from the sun. An additional interesting fact is that Saturn's density is so low that if it were placed in water it would float.