Mass of Venus the Planet


"Cassini's seven-plus years... have shown us how beautifully dynamic and unexpected the Saturn system is," commented project scientist Dr. Linda Spilker of NASA's JPL to Time Magazine's online edition on March 23, 2012. This gigantic "King of Planets" is considered by some astronomers to be a "failed star". It is about as large as a gas giant planet can be, and still be a planet. It is composed of approximately 90% hydrogen and 10% helium, with small amounts of water, methane, ammonia, and rocky grains mixed into the brew. If any more material were added on to this immense planet, gravity would hug it tightly--while its entire radius would barely increase. A baby star can grow to be much larger than Jupiter. However, a true star harbors its own sparkling internal source of heat--and Jupiter would have to grow at least 80 times more massive for its furnace to catch fire. Saturn is the smaller of the two gas-giant planets, twirling around our Sun, in the outer regions of our Solar System--far from the delightful warmth of our lovely incandescent roiling gas-ball of a Star. Jupiter is the larger of the duo of gas-giants dwelling in our Solar System, as well as the largest planet in our Sun's bewitching family, which is composed of eight major planets, an assortment of moons and moonlets, and a rich menagerie of smaller objects. Saturn is the second-largest planet in our Solar System--and probably the most beautiful.