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Saturn is about ten times larger than the Earth in diameter while spinning more than two times faster. Additionally, Saturn is 'self-luminous', it generates mor
by glurgh 13y ago
Saturn is about ten times larger than the Earth in diameter while spinning more than two times faster. Additionally, Saturn is 'self-luminous', it generates more energy than it receives from the Sun.
"Saturn has a very hot interior, reaching 11,700 °C at the core, and the planet radiates 2.5 times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Most of this extra energy is generated by the Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism of slow gravitational compression, but this alone may not be sufficient to explain Saturn's heat production. An additional mechanism may be at play whereby Saturn generates some of its heat through the "raining out" of droplets of helium deep in its interior" [Wikipedia]