1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to this podcast. I'm Josh, and there's 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's here too. Did I flub that line? 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: Yes? 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,159 Speaker 2: Am I going to retake it? No? 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,280 Speaker 1: I am not welcome to the pod broadcast. 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 2: This is stuff you should know, by the way, the 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 2: Far out edition. 9 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: That's right, it's in stuff out there in space. 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, and not just stuff in general. We're actually gonna 11 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: zero in on one specific piece of stuff that's out 12 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 2: there in space, a little planet called Saturn. 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: That's right. The ring to beauty. That's they'd like to 14 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: say in the biz it is. 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 2: Yet that's what the astrophysicists I'll call it. Uh huh 16 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: uh yeah. Or Saturn does have rings. It's not the 17 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 2: only planet with rings, as we'll see, or we can 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 2: see now. I think Jupiter and Uranus and is it 19 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 2: Mercury also that has rings, but they're just they don't 20 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: hold the candle the Saturn's rings. 21 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: Hey, get the candle away from Minis. 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,119 Speaker 2: Saturn's also a really ancient planet in that, as far 23 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 2: as human experience goes, is for as long as we've 24 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 2: been looking up in the night sky, we've seen Saturn 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 2: because it is the sixth planet from the Sun. It's 26 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 2: also the furthest planet away that you can see with 27 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 2: the naked eye here on planet Earth. 28 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: You want to know something funny before we go any further. Yeah, always, 29 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: before we recorded, Emily was asking, as she sometimes does, 30 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: what we're recording, and I told her the two episodes 31 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: and she asked about Saturn and I was like, not 32 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: very interesting to me, and she said, so, what are 33 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: you gonna what do you do in those episodes? Just 34 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: like to commentary and make jokes. I went, well, there's 35 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: probably not gonna be a lot of jokes, and she said, well, 36 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: as long as you can make one about your and 37 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: I said, I don't think i'll be able to because 38 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: it's about Saturn and lo and behold a minute and 39 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: twenty end. 40 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. Wow, Now you have two more times to bring 41 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: it back and then you'll have completed the comedy try. 42 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,679 Speaker 1: I think that's a wonner, as they say, But I'm 43 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: just excited to report back to Emily that that happened 44 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: unexpectedly and delight delightedly. 45 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 2: Well, way to go, Chuck, I thought you said it 46 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 2: was going to be funny though, huh. 47 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: Hey you laughed? Was that bitty? 48 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 2: Let's just move on all right? 49 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: Great? 50 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 2: So oh yeah, Like I said, people have known about 51 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,959 Speaker 2: Saturn for a very very long time, and in fact, 52 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 2: I think twenty five hundred years ago the first people 53 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: to document it were the Sumerians, and not too long 54 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 2: after that or around that time, in India the world's 55 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 2: oldest astronomy book, the Suriya Siddanta. Obviously whoever wrote it 56 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 2: was like, I'm going to try to guess the diameter 57 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 2: of Saturn, and I don't think they guessed at it, 58 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:05,519 Speaker 2: like you know how many jelly beans are in this jar? 59 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 2: Kind of guess like they used math and geometry and 60 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 2: all sorts of great stuff. Sure, but this is long 61 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 2: before they should have. So what makes it impressive is 62 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 2: that they were only off by one thousand miles. So 63 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 2: today we believe that the diameter of Saturn is about 64 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 2: seventy four thousand, five hundred and eighty miles. In the 65 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 2: Suria Sedanta they guessed seventy three thousand are estimated seventy 66 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,559 Speaker 2: three thousand, five hundred and eighty. That, my friend, is remarkable. 67 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, the regular Lewis and or Clark kind of weren't 68 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: they famous for like almost guessing the distance. 69 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 2: Oh yes, yeah, great, great analogy. Sorry it was lost 70 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 2: on me. Yeah. 71 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: First, so the name itself, Saturn is named after Saturnus, 72 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: which is the god of agriculture and harvest. So it 73 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: came from the Romans. And you know, Saturn goes pretty 74 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: slowly across the sky. So the day Saturday is named 75 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: for Saturn, which is the last day of the week. Yeah, 76 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: and now we're going to compare Saturn to Earth in 77 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: a lot of scintillating ways. And we could start with 78 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: just the massive size, because it makes Earth look like 79 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: just a pee and a pocket. Basically, it makes. 80 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 2: It look like a nickel if Saturn was a volleyball. 81 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 2: NASA loves that one. If you ever look up Saturn, 82 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 2: NASA uses that every chance they get. 83 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,279 Speaker 1: I wonder if when they got they got the nickel part. 84 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: And they were like, all right, well, we got to 85 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: find something laying around here that's as big as this distance. 86 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: And some guy was like, you know, there was one 87 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: sporty guy in the corner like practicing setting a volleyball spike. 88 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: He said, what about Jim over there is that. 89 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 2: Low hanging fruit Phil who is about. 90 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: To do that oh Man pork bill. But you know, 91 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: you're right, nickel compared to a volleyball is pretty good. 92 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,679 Speaker 1: But let's talk equator. The equator's close to ten times 93 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: larger than Earth at two hundred and twenty seven miles around, 94 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: compared to Earth badly little twenty five thousand miles. 95 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's got an extra spare tire compared to Earth's, 96 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 2: you know, totally. One of the things about Saturn though, 97 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 2: if you were, if you aren't like an astronomy type, 98 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 2: the kind of planet that Saturn is is a gas giant, 99 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,799 Speaker 2: which means that it's made largely of gas or gases. 100 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 2: So to be a gas giant, you don't have to 101 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 2: just be a big ball of gas, but you're made 102 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 2: of things that typically are considered gases on the periodic table. 103 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 2: Let's just get that straight right out of the gate. Okay, right, 104 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 2: But if you put the whole thing together, Saturn doesn't 105 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 2: have a surface to speak of. If you can go 106 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 2: far enough in toward the center, you might eventually hit 107 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 2: something you could stand on, but you would be under 108 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 2: so much heat and pressure that you wouldn't be thinking 109 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 2: about standing on the surface anymore. You'd have other problems. 110 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a very not dense planet, and some say 111 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: could even float in water if there was water that large. 112 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: A pool, yeah, or I don't know. A pond. 113 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 2: Sure, isn't that what they call lakes up in the Northeast. 114 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,600 Speaker 1: You know, I don't know the difference between a pond. 115 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,840 Speaker 2: And a lake in Maine. There is no difference. 116 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: I would think a pond is human made, but there 117 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: are many human made lakes too, so I don't know. 118 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: I'll have to look that up. 119 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 2: I always assumed it was size like pond is smaller, 120 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 2: lake is larger. Well that's what That's how you remember 121 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 2: lake l large. 122 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: Large l and pond puny nice one. I mean that 123 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: seems obvious, but surely there's something else, but maybe not. 124 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: We'll look into that. More to come on, ponds and links. 125 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 2: Okay, I'll keep talking while you look at it. 126 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: Well, I was going to talk, So why don't you 127 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: look it up. Earth is the third planet out as 128 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: modest mouse will tell you. They're about ninety two million 129 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 1: miles away, or we are rather. Saturn is the sixth 130 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: planet away from the Sun, and things really pick up 131 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: after you after you get away from Earth about eight 132 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty six million miles, which is going to 133 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: mean they're gonna be a very cold planet because they 134 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: get not nearly as much sun They get about one 135 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: point two percent of the sunlight that we get, which 136 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: means the average temperature in the upper atmosphere of Saturn 137 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: is a very chilly negative two hundred and twenty degree fahrenheit. 138 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 2: Or negative one hundred and forty celsius for our non 139 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 2: American liberian or can't remember the third one friends, that's right. 140 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 2: So there's some other interesting things that happen because it 141 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 2: gets such little sunlight. But one of the things that 142 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 2: astronomers were surprised by at first was Saturn's atmosphere that 143 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 2: is very cold, but it's not nearly as cold as 144 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 2: you would expect for how far away from the sun 145 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 2: it is and how little sunlight it gets. And they 146 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 2: finally figured out the reason why is because Saturn generates 147 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: its own internal heat. That's why it's not as cold 148 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 2: as it as it should be. That'sn't me yeah, exactly, 149 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: you could never be cold if you tried. 150 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: Man, I've been cold, but and when I get cold, 151 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: I have a very hard time warming up. 152 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 2: I meant, in like the figurative sense, you know, like. 153 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: Like a cold emotional individual. Yes, yes, oh well. 154 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 2: Thank you. So there's a couple other things about being 155 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 2: that far away from the Sun. I think it takes 156 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 2: eighty minutes for sunlight to get there. That's a long 157 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 2: time to stand around and wait for sunlight. We only 158 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 2: have to wait like eight minutes here on Earth. 159 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, So when they flick that switch on, you just 160 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: got it. You got a huddle, hunker down, right. 161 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 2: And then so in its orbit around the Sun, it 162 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 2: takes almost thirty earth years for Saturn to complete a year. 163 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, because you know, they're rotating very very quickly on 164 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 1: its axis, second fastest in the Solar system, second just 165 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: behind Jupiter. But if you're talking rotation speed here on Earth, 166 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: we're going at about nine hundred and seventy eight miles 167 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: an hour. Saturn is twenty three thousand miles an hour. 168 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:30,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, almost, no more than twenty three times faster than he. 169 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: And that's going to give it a short day, about 170 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: a ten point seven hour day. 171 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 2: Yes, And here on Earth, for comparison, a day is 172 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 2: more than twenty hours long. 173 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:44,079 Speaker 1: That's right. 174 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 2: So I said earlier, Chuck, that Saturn's a gas giant 175 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 2: and the two gases that it's most fond of our 176 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 2: hydrogen and helium, and overall, the I think the composition 177 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 2: of its atmosphere is about three quarters hydrogen one helium, 178 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 2: but in the planet itself it has far less hydrogen 179 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 2: than helium. That's about all you really need to know 180 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 2: about those two for now. But the point of the 181 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 2: whole thing is that there is an atmosphere. There are 182 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 2: different layers, and the atmosphere itself is about thirty seven 183 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 2: miles thick, and it is just generally gas, but it's 184 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 2: also super freaky, as we'll see. But if we zoom 185 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 2: in a little further, drop down a little further into Saturn, 186 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 2: into its center, and we make it through the thirty 187 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 2: seven mile thick atmosphere, we're suddenly going to find out 188 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 2: that the pressure is extraordinarily great in the next layer, 189 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 2: which is a layer of liquid hydrogen. 190 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's liquid hydrogen because of that pressure. It's 191 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: the It's just such a massive planet that here on Earth, 192 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: if we want to make liquid hydrogen, you have to 193 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: cool that gas down to very very low temperatures like 194 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: negative four hundred and twenty three degrees fahrenheit. But it's 195 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: just the pressure on Saturn. Even though those are high temperatures, 196 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: that pressure alone can make that gas a liquid, which 197 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: is incredible. 198 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 2: It really is. And then it gets even crazier because 199 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 2: so further in towards the core, toward the center of 200 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 2: the planet, that liquid hydrogen turns into a completely different 201 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 2: kind of thing that they call liquid metallic hydrogen. It's 202 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 2: still again on the periodic table, the gas even though 203 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 2: it's in liquid form, but it behaves like a metal 204 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 2: and that it can conduct electricity. So imagine hydrogen gas 205 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 2: conducting electricity. And once you put your head back together, 206 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 2: because it got blown so wide open from that, you 207 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:47,959 Speaker 2: will understand now how heat is generated inside Saturn. It's 208 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 2: from that liquid metallic hydrogen just acting like it ain't 209 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 2: supposed to. The reason why is because it's so compressed 210 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 2: from the pressure toward the center that everything, even the 211 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 2: electrons you remember like electrons are they are to like 212 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 2: a nucleus of an atom. What you know. I think 213 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 2: the outer planets in our Solar system is to the Sun, 214 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 2: they're really far away from it. This pressure is so 215 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 2: great in saturn center that their electrons are touching. It's 216 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 2: all mushed together. And that's why it's behaving weirdly, because 217 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 2: the electrons can conduct electricity a lot more easily. 218 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: And then if you want to go further down to 219 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: the core, you talk about hot. We don't know for 220 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 1: sure because you can't get in there. They've tried, they've tried, 221 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,319 Speaker 1: But the current belief right now is that it's basically 222 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: compressed molten iron into a ball about the size of 223 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: fifty five earth and a temperature of about fifteen thousand 224 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: degrees fahrenheit. 225 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 2: Which is hotter than the surface of the Sun. 226 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: Hot hot stuff in there. 227 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,439 Speaker 2: But if we're going to compare core to core, the 228 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 2: core of the Sun is twenty seven million degrees fahrenheight. 229 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 2: Note I saw one other thing about the core of Saturn, 230 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 2: and then maybe we'll take a break. Apparently some researchers 231 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 2: have concluded that it's actually slushy, so it's not solid, 232 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:15,719 Speaker 2: which makes sense. I mean, you'd think it'd be kind 233 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 2: of moltener in some weird state, but that it's also 234 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 2: made of in addition to iron, ice, rock and gas, 235 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,439 Speaker 2: and how there could possibly be ice in the core 236 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 2: that's fifteen thousand degrees fahrenheit is totally beyond me. I 237 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 2: couldn't see a good explanation of this whatsoever. It's possible 238 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 2: that the researchers who've proposed this completely off their rockers. 239 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 2: I don't know, but I thought it was worth mentioning 240 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 2: because I think that's fantastic if it is true. And 241 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 2: hopefully there's the stuff you should know listener who is 242 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 2: out there as like grave and I'm going to email 243 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 2: in and explain to Josh and Chuck how there could 244 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 2: possibly be ice there. 245 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: That would be great. 246 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 2: Yep, Okay, you want to take that huge four promised break. 247 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, let's do it and we'll be back on I 248 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: don't know. Let's talk about like how Saturn was sworn 249 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 1: to begin with, right after this. All right, So there 250 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: are a couple of theories about how Saturn was formed. 251 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: If you're a if you're a regular human walking around 252 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: planet Earth, you might hear both of these and say 253 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: sounds like like you're kind of talking about basically the 254 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: same thing. 255 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 2: Yeah. 256 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: If you're an astrophysicist, you might glavin out as you 257 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: mentioned before, that's two Glavin's and say, oh no, no, no, 258 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: it is a very very polarizing question in astrophysics, and 259 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: to us this different is very large. So yeah, so 260 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: if you're an astrophysicist out there, this might really excite you. 261 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: If you're not, would I would dare you. I would 262 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: urge you to try and be delighted in the minutia 263 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: of the difference of science and how important that can be. 264 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 2: The question about how Saturn or gas giants like Saturn 265 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 2: form is more polarizing than the proposal to rename Uranus. Right, 266 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 2: if we work together, that's two. 267 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 1: That's two. 268 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 2: So I'm going to explain the difference because I find 269 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 2: this fascinating. There's the main generally accepted model of how 270 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 2: planets form, including gas giants like Saturn, is called the 271 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 2: core accretion model, and that is basically, when a star forms, 272 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 2: like our Sun, it forms out of dust and gas 273 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 2: and all sorts of crazy stuff, and there's a lot 274 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: of other debris that starts swirling around it, forming a disc, 275 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 2: and that's where planets form from. There's all sorts of 276 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 2: collisions and things get bigger and kind of clump together, 277 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 2: and as they get bigger, they attract more stuff. And 278 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 2: the closer you are into, the closer you are to 279 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 2: the star, the more likely you are to attract heavy 280 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 2: stuff like say, iron, nickel, stuff that makes up rocky planets, right, 281 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: And everybody's like corecretion model, that's just how planets form. 282 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 2: But then there's a group of like renegade astrophysicists led 283 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 2: by a guy named Alan Boss, who are basically like no. 284 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 2: That leaves a couple of questions out there. One is 285 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 2: that there's less rocky debris in the outer reaches of 286 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 2: this disc that's swirling around the Sun, so you know, 287 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: how can a gas giant be made out of rocky core? 288 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 2: And then secondly that the remnants that are out there, 289 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 2: say like dust and gases like hydrogen and helium, they 290 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 2: will float away into outer space and out of the 291 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 2: Solar System and out of reach before a gas giant 292 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 2: could form using the core accretion model. So what they've 293 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 2: come up with instead is called the disk instability model. 294 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 2: And they said, you don't need rocky stuff like iron 295 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 2: and nickel to form a gas giant. It forms from 296 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 2: gases from the start, And the core accretion model people said, okay, 297 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 2: smart guys, how how could that possibly happen? And the 298 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 2: disk instability model people said that that swirling disk becomes 299 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 2: so compressed and so dense from swirling around the Sun 300 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 2: for so long that when it breaks up, some of 301 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 2: that dust and gas has enough density that it can 302 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 2: attract other dust and gases and hence form a gas giant. 303 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 2: And the core accretion model people were a gog. 304 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 1: I love that word, by the way, I do too. 305 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 2: It works really well well. 306 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: Another remarkable thing about Saturn are the just incredible storms 307 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: that have and around Saturn. There's a very large temperature 308 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: difference between the very hot interlators that we were talking about. 309 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: I can't remember how many degrees fahrenheit. 310 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,159 Speaker 2: We said, but fifteen thousand, yeah. 311 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: Fifteen thousand, and then the very icy atmosphere out there 312 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 1: is very very cold I see obviously, and so near 313 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: the equator you're going to have winds that are going 314 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: about one thousand miles an hour. You've got a very 315 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: erratic atmosphere, so it's not like it's just constantly stormy. 316 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: There may be years that go between storms, but then 317 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: they might go through a storm that lasts like literal 318 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,679 Speaker 1: years and years and years. They photograph one with the 319 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: Cassini probe in twenty ten, and this storm was so 320 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: big and this is you know, on a big planet 321 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: that it went all the way around and met itself 322 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: like a single storm system like Borros. Yeah, that is 323 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: just I mean, we've seen some crazy storms here in 324 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 1: recent years where like, you know, from middle Mexico all 325 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: the way up through like the northeast of the United States. 326 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: I'll and I'll look at a Doppler and be like, 327 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: that's incredible to see a storm that large. So imagine 328 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: when going all around the entire planet of Earth, and 329 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,640 Speaker 1: then imagine Earth's size and relation to Saturn, and that'll 330 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,120 Speaker 1: kind of tell you how big of a storm we're 331 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: talking about. 332 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's absolutely nuts. And the reason why that it's 333 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 2: got such a crazy atmosphere is because of that temperature difference, 334 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 2: the temperature gradient. So remember we were talking about how 335 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 2: tornadoes form on Earth and the tornado alley short stuff 336 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 2: that you have to have a temperature gradient. Apparently the 337 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 2: same thing happens on Saturn as well. But there's also Chuck, 338 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 2: a really weird weather system that does not come and go. 339 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 2: It's essentially a feature, it seems like, because it was 340 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 2: first photographed in nineteen eighty one when the Voyager two 341 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,479 Speaker 2: probe did a fly by of Saturn and when the 342 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 2: Cassini mission arrived I think in like two thousand and 343 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 2: nine or ten or something like that, it saw the 344 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 2: exact same thing was essentially there. So what they figured 345 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 2: out is it's not a storm. It's a really really 346 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 2: fast jet stream. But the thing about it, I'm sure 347 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,639 Speaker 2: people out there who are familiar with jet streams are like, 348 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 2: so big, whoop, Well get this. This jet stream forms 349 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 2: a hexagon around the top of the planet. It's one 350 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 2: of the weirdest things I've ever seen. 351 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like you said, they photographed it in nineteen 352 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: eighty one, and then I think the Cassini Huygens mission 353 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,719 Speaker 1: ended in twenty seventeen and it was still there and 354 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: still basically looked the same, and I can only reckon 355 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: that it's still like that today. 356 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's a good reckon. 357 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: We're talking five hundred mile an hour winds at the 358 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 1: center of this vortex, and they think that weird shape 359 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: is due to the really fast rotation, which makes a 360 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: bulge at the equator and flattens things out at the pole. 361 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: So it's just created this really strange kind of jet stream, 362 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:06,119 Speaker 1: this strange shape. 363 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, So I think, Chuck, we can't really put it 364 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 2: off any longer. I believe that it's time to talk 365 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 2: about Saturn's rings because I mean, imagine if we didn't 366 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 2: in this episode. 367 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you mentioned, you know, it's not the 368 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: only one with rings. I know you mentioned myanus. 369 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 2: Sorry that's three. 370 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 1: I know that's the lowest of lowing fruit. 371 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 2: Though Phil would be like, that's fine. 372 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, Phil would love it. But Neptune and Jupiter, I'm 373 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: not sure if you mentioned those. Those are some other 374 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:39,400 Speaker 1: ringed planets. But Saturns are like, those are the show stoppers. 375 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: They're incredible. If you've ever you know, do yourself a favor, 376 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: if you've never looked at like real pictures, like telescopic 377 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: pictures of Saturn, like, do so, because oh it's incredible 378 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:52,400 Speaker 1: looking these pictures. 379 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 2: I have an anecdote about that. 380 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: Let's hear it. 381 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 2: So remember we did an Australian tour a few years back. 382 00:21:59,040 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: It was great. 383 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, it was on one of the days off. 384 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 2: You mean, I went to the Sydney Observatory one night. 385 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 2: Oh cool, and they had just happened to have one 386 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 2: of their telescopes trained on Saturn and you could lean 387 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 2: over and look through the eyepiece. And we did, and 388 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 2: both of us just started laughing because it looked so fake, 389 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 2: like a little white cutout of Saturn, just fat as. 390 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 2: It just looked like they were like, we can't find Saturn, 391 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 2: so we're gonna. 392 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 1: Have to put this slide exactly. 393 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 2: But the volunteer was looking at us like, what do 394 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,399 Speaker 2: you what's so funny about Saturn. Basically we just moved along. 395 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 2: But that was our that's my Saturn annexode. 396 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: And you said it looked fake, and he's like, that's real, man. 397 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 2: No, we didn't. We didn't bother to say anything. It 398 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,360 Speaker 2: was mine and Yumi's little joke. 399 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: That was the worst aussy accent I've ever done, and 400 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: I've done some pretty good ones over the years. I 401 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:53,120 Speaker 1: don't know what happened. 402 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 2: It sounded like Billy Ray Cyrus trying. 403 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: To be h It came out so wrong. It was 404 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,680 Speaker 1: very strange. It sound about in my head right before 405 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: I said it. So yeah, any aside from the telescope 406 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:09,479 Speaker 1: slide fake, it's just incredible looking and the sort of 407 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 1: knockout fact is we're still not exactly sure where these 408 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: rings came from. 409 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 2: And we've known about the rings, so I remember people 410 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 2: have known about Saturn since we started looking up at 411 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 2: the sky, but you can't see the rings. But right 412 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 2: when people started inventing telescopes, they noticed that Saturn had 413 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 2: something weird going on. In sixteen ten, Galileo, the astronomer 414 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 2: made famous by the Indigo Girls, he spotted Saturn's rings 415 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 2: in his telescope, but it wasn't of high enough quality 416 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 2: for him to be like, those are rings. He thought 417 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 2: they were like bulges on the side, like handles on 418 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 2: a pot or something like that. He wasn't quite sure 419 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 2: what the heck it was. He actually, I think thought 420 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,160 Speaker 2: it was like a three body system, like two huge 421 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 2: moons in a planet, and it wasn't. But I mean, 422 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 2: fifty years later, I guess even less that. Christian Huggins said, 423 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 2: I've got a much better telescope now, and those are rings. 424 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 2: I bet my bottom dollar on it. That was his 425 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 2: famous quote. 426 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: You know what Galileo's crime was. 427 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 2: Loving too much looking up the truth? Is that what 428 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 2: the lyric is? 429 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a great song, sure it is. You know 430 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:27,679 Speaker 1: I went to the same orthodontist as Emily from Indigo Girls. 431 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,880 Speaker 1: Oh that's great, that's my claim to fame. 432 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 2: Did I can't even come up with a joke. But yes, that's. 433 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: Great, shout out to oh God, doctor Blake. Hope he's 434 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 1: still around. He may not be. This was in the 435 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,440 Speaker 1: eighties and he was okay and is probably. I mean, 436 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,840 Speaker 1: he looked at seventy, but that means he was probably. 437 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 2: Fifty right in the eighties. Sure. 438 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, And just for my teenage gays, you know, I. 439 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 2: Was gonna say that's that was mean, Like this is 440 00:24:58,320 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 2: like a recent person he went to. 441 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: No, he could still be around. He could be in 442 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: his nineties probably, But I hope he is. I hope 443 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: he's still putting braces on kids. 444 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, they don't want them, but he's doing it anyway. 445 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: He's putting like nineteen eighties braces on kids, though they've 446 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 1: come a long way. And he's like, no, these metal 447 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: bands go around your teeth. 448 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 2: The lip slashers. 449 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: Oh god, all right, So back to the rings. They 450 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,919 Speaker 1: are ninety five percent ice. It's rock and ice, but 451 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: ninety five percent of it is ice. And these are particles. 452 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,360 Speaker 1: But when you say particles, it could be a particle 453 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 1: like a sandy grain, but it could also be like 454 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: a large boulder like they very widely in size. And 455 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 1: here's the thing about those rings too. They are very 456 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 1: very wide, but comparatively they are very very thin. I 457 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: think the farthest ring, which is one hundred and seventy 458 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: five thousand miles from the upper atmosphere of Saturn, is 459 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:01,679 Speaker 1: seven thousand times the diameter of planet, but only about 460 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 1: thirty to sixty feet wide or thick, I guess. 461 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 2: And that nuts. Yeah, I mean that's crazy. Like, how 462 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 2: does that thing even exist? Is my question. 463 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: We're about to tell you. 464 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 2: So if you look at Saturn, especially through a Sydney 465 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 2: based telescope, you're gonna see that it looks like it's 466 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 2: it basically like kind of cocked its rings to the 467 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,959 Speaker 2: side like a hat, a jaunty cap, as I put it. 468 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I do that sometimes with certain caps exactly. 469 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 2: Who doesn't. Everybody's familiar with that. Now, the thing is 470 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 2: is Saturn's not doing that. Actually, if you straighten Saturn out, 471 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 2: its rings would be roughly parallel to its equator. It 472 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 2: turns out that Saturn itself is jauntily cocked to the 473 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 2: side too, to the tune of twenty seven degrees and 474 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 2: Earth's axial tilt I think is what it's called. So 475 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 2: the tilt relative to the plane of orbit around the Sun, 476 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 2: black plane tilted planet. Let's just leave it at that. 477 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 2: Earth's twenty three degrees, so twenty seven isn't that much more. 478 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 2: But Saturn's rings like really point out how angled the 479 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 2: whole thing is. Yeah. 480 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, if we had a little jaunty cap, then Earth 481 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: would look good jaunty as well, I guess. 482 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. But the other thing about it too, is with 483 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 2: an axial tilt that pronounced like Earth's and like Saturns, 484 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 2: that's how you have seasons. Some parts are closer to 485 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 2: the Sun at different times of the year. Same thing 486 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 2: on Saturn. But since Saturn's years are almost thirty Earth 487 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 2: years long, that would mean that the seasons are like 488 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,199 Speaker 2: seven years long on Saturn. Yeah, seven year spring. Who 489 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:44,680 Speaker 2: wouldn't want that. 490 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: That's a good band name right there. 491 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 2: It is, It really is, Chuck. 492 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,480 Speaker 1: These rings are separated, obviously. When you look at them, 493 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,879 Speaker 1: you can tell there are gaps in between, and some 494 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: are brighter than others, some are more dense than others. 495 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: And because of that, they you know, when they knowed 496 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,440 Speaker 1: the rings, they didn't know about all of them. They 497 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: were discovered individually over time and named A, B, C, D, E, F, 498 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: and G. And order of when they were found, but 499 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: that's not the actual order of where they are. If 500 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: you just started at Saturn and work your way out, right, 501 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: in that case, it would be DCB, A, F, G 502 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: and then E. 503 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 2: The best mnemonic device I could come up to, remember 504 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 2: that is, don't choose brunch and four go grits and eggs. 505 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: That's pretty good. 506 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought so too. 507 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: I thought just a nonsense joke was coming my way, 508 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: But no, that one actually makes sense. Yeah, nice, nice work, Yeah, 509 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: Phil A. 510 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 2: Bruise, good. Thanks Phil. So if you ever noticed Saturn's 511 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 2: rings also, there's like dark stripes in between them that's 512 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 2: actually voids in between the rings, right that Saturn's got 513 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 2: tons of rings, some are bigger than others, and when 514 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 2: you kind of look at them from afar, it just 515 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 2: looks like they have what is that seven seven rings, 516 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 2: but there's actually way more. These are just the rings 517 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 2: that we can see and identify, and they're they're differentiated 518 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 2: by these gaps, and there's a huge gap I think 519 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 2: between the B ring and the A ring. So it's 520 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 2: about in the middle of Saturn's rings. It's called the 521 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 2: Cassini division and it's about three thousand miles across. 522 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's a gap. 523 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, it is a big gap. And kind of put 524 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 2: this in perspective, especially for our American friends. If you 525 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 2: took Seattle and you took Boston, and you erase the 526 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 2: country in between them and replace it with the void 527 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 2: of space, the people in Seattle and Boston could look 528 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 2: out from one another across what was roughly the size 529 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 2: of the Cassini Division. I like that analogy. I don't 530 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 2: know what's so funny about. 531 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: It, Daddy, how far is three thousand miles? 532 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 2: Okay? But it was replacing it with the void of 533 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 2: space that I think really drove it home. If you 534 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 2: ask me, Yeah, do you know how long I went 535 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 2: into a distance calculator to figure out two cities that 536 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 2: most people know are roughly three thousand miles apart. 537 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: Did you come up with that? Yeah? So the Cassini Division. 538 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: The cause of that whole thing is the interaction gravitationally 539 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 1: speaking with the moon. And we'll talk about the various 540 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 1: moons coming up. But the moon, I guess, is it mimis. 541 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 1: It is not mimas, is it. 542 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 2: I've been saying mimis. 543 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:31,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been saying mimis in my head. 544 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 2: Although Mimas makes sense too. 545 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, but I like Mimas okay, because it's not Titan. 546 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: It's Titan depending on where you live, though, I guess so. 547 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 1: But the particles in that b ring orbit about two 548 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: times for each of Mimis's trip around Saturn, and each 549 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 1: time they're going to pass, Mimis has the chance to 550 00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,640 Speaker 1: inflict a little gravitational influence on those particles, and that 551 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 1: just accumulates, basically, and it creates a very steady gravitational 552 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: force on those particles. It's just going to hold them 553 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: right there in place, and they're not gonna drift into 554 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 1: the gap. They're gonna stay nice and tight. 555 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's how that's how the Cassini 556 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 2: division is created by that gravitational pull and me Mimis 557 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 2: also is nicknamed the Death Star because if you look 558 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 2: at a picture of Mimis, it looks an awful lot 559 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,840 Speaker 2: like the Death Star. Yeah, and the death Star that's 560 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 2: a it's like a space fortress in the Star Wars movies. 561 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: That's no planet, that's right, But no, it's a moon. 562 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: Oh that's no moon. Was that what it was? 563 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,480 Speaker 2: No? I'm saying he was right. It isn't a planet, 564 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 2: it's a moon. 565 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: I can't remember the line that was it that's no planet. 566 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 1: I think that's what it was. 567 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,960 Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure when the Hans solo is saying that, Yeah. 568 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: I think so. But you know, it's no big deal 569 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: if you gets Star Wars stuff wrong. 570 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,640 Speaker 2: Right now, everybody's very easy going about that stuff. 571 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 1: Uh, should we know, should we break or should we not? 572 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,240 Speaker 2: Let's talk about how the rings formed and then we'll 573 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:05,040 Speaker 2: come back into it. Now, let's take a break. 574 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: You want to take a break, Yeah, okay, and then 575 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: we'll talk about how those rings form. 576 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 2: Right for this, So, Chuck, you said a little early on, 577 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 2: I think that the people who study this kind of 578 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 2: stuff are not one hundred percent sure how Saturn's rings formed. 579 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: Right. 580 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 2: There's a lot of different competing theories. There's a whole 581 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 2: camp that's like they're as old as the planet, so 582 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 2: there are multi billion year old rings, and other people 583 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 2: are like, that's just stupid. And specifically, there's a researcher 584 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 2: from NASA who in nineteen eighty six wrote a paper. 585 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 2: Its name's Jack Connerney. I don't think he actually said 586 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 2: your idea is stupid. To other people But what he 587 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 2: did do he calculated the rate of what came to 588 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 2: be called ring rain, and that is those particles falling 589 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 2: into Saturn. And when they do that, that ring becomes 590 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 2: slightly depleted, and it happens more and more and more, 591 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 2: and on the scale of tens or hundreds of millions 592 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: of years. Saturn is eventually steadily losing its rings. And 593 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 2: apparently the particles fall into Saturn when they become charged, 594 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 2: and I guess they're more attracted by Saturn's gravitational pull 595 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 2: and they travel down the magnetosphere just like particles bombard 596 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,960 Speaker 2: Earth's magnetosphere and produce the auroras. Same thing happens to Saturn, 597 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 2: but it's paying the price. It's at the expense of 598 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 2: losing its rings. 599 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 1: Does it come does it become part of Saturn itself? 600 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 1: Does it suck that up into Saturn? 601 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 2: Yes, I believe so, and I think it melts as 602 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:07,959 Speaker 2: it gets further and further toward the center. 603 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:12,320 Speaker 1: Okay, so Saturn isn't necessarily becoming larger as the rings deplete. 604 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,400 Speaker 2: No, Leon's becoming larger. 605 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: Okay, So all right, that means a lot of stuff. 606 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: That means that we are living on Earth at a 607 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 1: time where we just happened to live and it's a 608 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: long period of time, but if you if you zoom 609 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:34,160 Speaker 1: out on a macro level, cosmically speaking, it's not that long. 610 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: But we happen to be living in a time where 611 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:39,480 Speaker 1: we're probably at like peak ring, don't you think? 612 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, because guys like Jack Connor and he calculated that 613 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 2: based on the rate of ring rain, the rings probably 614 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,560 Speaker 2: aren't more than one hundred million years old, right, So 615 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 2: one hundred million years before this, Saturn wouldn't have had rings, 616 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,479 Speaker 2: And they also calculated one hundred to three hundred million 617 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,759 Speaker 2: years Hence Saturn's not going to have rings. The way 618 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:02,800 Speaker 2: that they came up with that one hundred million year 619 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 2: old estimate is because any older than that there should 620 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,359 Speaker 2: be far less rings based on the rate of ring rain, 621 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,200 Speaker 2: and if it were younger, there should be more rings 622 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:16,879 Speaker 2: than that. So that group is pretty self satisfied right now. 623 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I bet they are. We also talked about, well, 624 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 1: we still haven't really talked about where the actual stuff 625 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,439 Speaker 1: that makes up those rings come from. And again there 626 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 1: are competing theories, one of which is that there used 627 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 1: to be and again we'll get to the moons Saturn 628 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:36,920 Speaker 1: has lots of moons, but one theory is that there 629 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: used to have even a lot more moons than they 630 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,920 Speaker 1: have now. And one of those moons that may have existed, 631 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,719 Speaker 1: they actually named Chrysalis, was in a little bit of 632 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,279 Speaker 1: a push and pull with Titan, the largest moon, a 633 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: gravitational battle or Tin or titin. Yeah, it fell out 634 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,320 Speaker 1: of orbit because of that battle, I guess Titan wins 635 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: and Chrysalis verr too close to Saturn, was basically just 636 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:04,440 Speaker 1: busted apart by the gravity of this enormous gas giant, 637 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,799 Speaker 1: and then that debris field is what formed that ring. 638 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: And then over time, over millions and millions of years, 639 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,240 Speaker 1: Chrysalis continued to sort of crash into itself and created 640 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,480 Speaker 1: like the smaller rings around itself or above and below. 641 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 2: And also some of the bigger ones because you know, 642 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,239 Speaker 2: like you said, some of the some of the particles 643 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:27,200 Speaker 2: in the rings are like grain of sand size, but 644 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,319 Speaker 2: other like bowler size, and those bolder ones are just 645 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 2: ones that haven't crashed into the proper other boulders yet 646 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 2: to create those sand grains. They just it's just a 647 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:37,120 Speaker 2: matter of time eventually. 648 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, what's what's the other theory? 649 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 2: There's another theory, which, by the way, Saturn apparently is 650 00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:46,760 Speaker 2: like a thunderdome for astrophysicists. There's so many different theories 651 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:50,600 Speaker 2: about so many different things. Yeah, but the other theory 652 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,840 Speaker 2: is that a bunch of Saturn's moons collided together. It 653 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,719 Speaker 2: wasn't just one getting pulled towards Saturn. They all just 654 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:59,200 Speaker 2: kind of got all tripped up and boom boom boom 655 00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 2: boo boo boom, and all of a sudden, you've got 656 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 2: this dbris field that got smaller and smaller, more particulate 657 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 2: over time, just like the chrysalis theory too. 658 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,320 Speaker 1: So they don't fight over this one, probably as much. 659 00:37:12,719 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 2: Not as much, but they do dress like master Blaster 660 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:18,800 Speaker 2: when they talk about it. They just don't actually fight. 661 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:24,120 Speaker 1: Some of these rings are formed by these moons. There's 662 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:27,920 Speaker 1: one called one of the moons ensilattice. 663 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 2: I'm going with enceladus, enceladus o encilatus sounds way too 664 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 2: much like salad. 665 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, en solata. Yeah, this thing is erupting saltwater kind 666 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,560 Speaker 1: of constantly into the atmosphere and that turns into ice crystals, 667 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,760 Speaker 1: and those ice crystals, as we see, can very easily 668 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,840 Speaker 1: form into rings. And that is, in fact where we 669 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,319 Speaker 1: get our e ring around Saturn. If you know, you're 670 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:56,680 Speaker 1: looking at the letters, So I guess the ABC the 671 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 1: fifth one discovery. 672 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 2: Well no, remember they are out of or oh yeah, 673 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:05,319 Speaker 2: the fifth one discovered. You're right? Sorry, nice save. So 674 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 2: there's also another ring that they discovered as recently as 675 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,400 Speaker 2: two thousand and nine, because our telescopes just keep getting 676 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:14,160 Speaker 2: better and better, from Galileos in sixteen ten to the 677 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 2: Spitzer space telescope. Surprisingly hard to say, Yeah, they found 678 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:23,400 Speaker 2: a new ring that basically follows the orbit of Saturn's 679 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:25,480 Speaker 2: furthest moon out Phoebe Buffe. 680 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:29,399 Speaker 1: Yeah that's right. I was gonna say Bridgers, but sure. 681 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:33,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, yours is a little more art housey than mine. 682 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:37,920 Speaker 1: Who I love that boy, genius record so good. I 683 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,879 Speaker 1: believe Phoebe's is a very faint ring, is that right? 684 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah I do. Yeah, it's very That's why it 685 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:46,920 Speaker 2: took so long for us to find it. 686 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:47,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. 687 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 2: I think we knew Phoebe existed the moon. It could 688 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:54,600 Speaker 2: be fau Abbe they might be pronouncing it like that, 689 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 2: but we didn't know the ring was there until two 690 00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:58,640 Speaker 2: thousand and nine. 691 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, but were mentioning all this is the fact that 692 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:07,600 Speaker 1: those rings are they're dynamic, they're changing, they're reshaping, and 693 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:10,360 Speaker 1: like we said, and you know, maybe as little as 694 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: one hundred million years, they might may not even be there. 695 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:17,160 Speaker 2: Yeah. I just think that's really fascinating. You know, you 696 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,640 Speaker 2: can thank the Good Lord that we're alive at a 697 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,920 Speaker 2: time when Saturn has rings and we have telescopes. 698 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:23,959 Speaker 1: That's right. 699 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,960 Speaker 2: So we also talked a lot about the moons just now, 700 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 2: and it turns out that Saturn's moons are really fascinating 701 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:33,440 Speaker 2: in and of themselves. It has a bunch of moons, 702 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:35,719 Speaker 2: as many as one hundred and forty six that we 703 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,879 Speaker 2: know about right now. Just last year, well two years ago, 704 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:44,000 Speaker 2: when this comes out in twenty twenty three, the International 705 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:47,960 Speaker 2: Astronomical Union, they added sixty two more moons. And I 706 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:49,839 Speaker 2: don't know if they were saving up and just wanted 707 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 2: to do a batch edition of moons. Yeah, if they 708 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 2: found a bunch in quick secession, I'm not sure, but 709 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 2: they're like, there are definitely more moons there. 710 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, our moon's coming, I mean, because yeah, just a 711 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:03,560 Speaker 1: couple of years ago they were under one hundred and 712 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,400 Speaker 1: now there's one hundred and forty six. So big changes. 713 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,920 Speaker 1: So keep collecting those moons, everybody, and hit us in 714 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,600 Speaker 1: a few years with a number that's going to knock 715 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 1: our socks off. 716 00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:15,480 Speaker 2: Collect all one hundred and forty six, that's right. So 717 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,600 Speaker 2: the other thing about the moons too is that they 718 00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:22,440 Speaker 2: orbit outside of the rings, which makes sense because the 719 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,680 Speaker 2: moons that were inside of the rings were what make 720 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,360 Speaker 2: up the rings. Probably. Yeah, so these moons haven't smashed 721 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,799 Speaker 2: into anything else and they're just orbiting around. And like 722 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:36,480 Speaker 2: you said, mimis that one exerts a gravitational influence that 723 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,680 Speaker 2: creates the Cassini division, which means that it's really close 724 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:46,120 Speaker 2: to those rings. It's actually the nearest moon to Saturn's atmosphere, 725 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:50,480 Speaker 2: but it's only about half the distance of the moon 726 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,560 Speaker 2: we have here on Earth. Whi's about two hundred and 727 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:56,040 Speaker 2: thirty seven thousand miles, as every shining. 728 00:40:55,680 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 1: Fan knows, that's right. But this thing hauls it. It 729 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,760 Speaker 1: has an orbital speed of about thirty two thousand miles 730 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:06,520 Speaker 1: an hour. It's so fast that it completes an orbit 731 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,600 Speaker 1: in less than an Earth day, about twenty two hours. 732 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,279 Speaker 1: And if you consider our moon here on Earth, what 733 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:14,839 Speaker 1: does it take about a month to complete its orbit. 734 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:16,440 Speaker 1: That's that's really cooking. 735 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:19,800 Speaker 2: In fact, the month is based on the moon taking 736 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:24,960 Speaker 2: a month. They're inextricable basically, So is there a month. 737 00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:26,680 Speaker 1: Two hours? 738 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:27,120 Speaker 2: I guess so? 739 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:29,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, because what was their day? What did you say 740 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:31,800 Speaker 1: their day was tennish? 741 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:33,640 Speaker 2: I think ten point six? 742 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:35,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. Ten. 743 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,600 Speaker 2: So there's a bunch of different moons, different sizes, but 744 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,719 Speaker 2: Saturn has some really really big ones. Titan, which we've 745 00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 2: already talked about, is enormous and what a moon. It 746 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:50,000 Speaker 2: is a great moon. Its size is large enough that 747 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:53,040 Speaker 2: it can actually hold an atmosphere in place. It's one 748 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,120 Speaker 2: of the very few moons that we know about that 749 00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:58,960 Speaker 2: has an actual atmosphere to speak of. And boy are 750 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:00,000 Speaker 2: we gonna speak about it? 751 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:04,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is. It's a It's Titan is quite striking. 752 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:09,480 Speaker 1: It is has mountains made of ice, has seas made 753 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:14,920 Speaker 1: of ethane and liquid methane. So it's just an incredible moon. 754 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:19,480 Speaker 1: It has an atmosphere much like ours. It's composed of nitrogen, 755 00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:23,600 Speaker 1: but it has an air pressure that just knocks ours 756 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:25,960 Speaker 1: out of the park. It's I think one hundred and 757 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:30,520 Speaker 1: fifty percent stronger at sea level, which is it's going 758 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:33,440 Speaker 1: to be like you'd think you were on LSD or 759 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:36,279 Speaker 1: something if you you plopped yourself on Titan and you 760 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:38,040 Speaker 1: would look around and you were being like, wait, there's 761 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,040 Speaker 1: odd things happening, like it's raining really slowly, and someone say, well, 762 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:43,799 Speaker 1: what does that even mean. It's like, well, look at 763 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,800 Speaker 1: the literal rain. It's coming down at about three and 764 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:48,200 Speaker 1: a half miles an hour on Earth, it rains down 765 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:51,640 Speaker 1: at about twenty miles an hour, and it just it's 766 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:54,080 Speaker 1: it sounds funny and it looks funny. 767 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,960 Speaker 2: And the one of the friends there was like, rains 768 00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,239 Speaker 2: of weird word have you ever thought about that word rain? 769 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:02,120 Speaker 1: But why does it sound funny? 770 00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 2: Because the atmosphere is so thick that vibration sound can 771 00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:11,280 Speaker 2: travel much more efficiently through it. So if you shouted 772 00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:14,320 Speaker 2: like hello, you would burst the eardrums of your friend 773 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:15,000 Speaker 2: on LSD. 774 00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:18,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you said look how slow the rain is. 775 00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,799 Speaker 2: They just tap their hands over their ears and like 776 00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:22,000 Speaker 2: double over and pain. 777 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:27,759 Speaker 1: But it's not a hospitable place, like nothing could could 778 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:29,960 Speaker 1: live on the surface of Titan. I think it has 779 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:32,840 Speaker 1: a negative two hundred and forty I'm sorry two hundred 780 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:37,319 Speaker 1: and ninety degree fahrenheit average temperature and like we said, 781 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 1: the liquids there are methane and ethane, so that's you 782 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:43,239 Speaker 1: know what, you can't do anything with those two. 783 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,760 Speaker 2: No, but there is a liquid ocean about fifty miles 784 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:52,760 Speaker 2: below the surface that methane and ethane and ice surface. 785 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,000 Speaker 2: And this ocean is actually made of salt water. 786 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:01,000 Speaker 1: Yeah good fishing, yea from what I hear for sure. 787 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:03,399 Speaker 2: But that's the point. They're like, wait a minute, there's 788 00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:06,320 Speaker 2: salt water. There's it's heated by the core of Titan. 789 00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 2: There's also hydrocarbons on the planet's surface. Like if you 790 00:44:10,719 --> 00:44:13,040 Speaker 2: put this stuff together in just the right arrangement, you 791 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,920 Speaker 2: might have some sort of bizarre form of life. Like 792 00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:20,040 Speaker 2: these are organic materials that you could conceivably create life from. 793 00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:23,080 Speaker 2: So who knows what's swimming around or floating around in 794 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:27,600 Speaker 2: that ocean underneath Titan's surface. Yeah, that's why people are 795 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:28,800 Speaker 2: so jazzed about Titan. 796 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally. And it's Titan, I mean, come. 797 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:36,600 Speaker 2: On, yeah, you know there's also what'd you say, ensaladus. 798 00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:39,239 Speaker 1: Insuladus, That's right, what'd you call it? 799 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,920 Speaker 2: Uh? I said enceladus? You said something else. It sounded 800 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:45,279 Speaker 2: like salad. Are you Enceladus. 801 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:49,520 Speaker 1: I think I said, enceladus. We'll let the listeners decide. 802 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:51,719 Speaker 2: Have you ever thought about that word in soladus? 803 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,680 Speaker 1: What's the deal with that one? That's I know it's 804 00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:00,319 Speaker 1: about the size of Arizona and also has the salt 805 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:02,480 Speaker 1: water ocean under the crust. 806 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:05,719 Speaker 2: That is so so far Titans two for two that 807 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,879 Speaker 2: we've talked about. We've talked about two moons and both 808 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:12,880 Speaker 2: of them happen to have salt water oceans. Yeah underneath Yeah, 809 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,759 Speaker 2: that's a big one too. So like it's underneath its 810 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,279 Speaker 2: icy crust, which means that it's protected and heated and 811 00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:22,560 Speaker 2: heated so much in fact that I think we said enceladus. 812 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:26,280 Speaker 2: Now I don't know how to say. It bursts ice 813 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:29,960 Speaker 2: from its ocean out into the atmosphere, creating the e ring, 814 00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:33,840 Speaker 2: which is pretty cool in and of itself, But that 815 00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:37,640 Speaker 2: also means that there's geysers, and where there's geysers, there's 816 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:41,960 Speaker 2: probably hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, the floor of 817 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:45,839 Speaker 2: the salt water ocean, and that means that life could 818 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:50,480 Speaker 2: conceivably create or start up there, because that's a really 819 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,720 Speaker 2: popular theory these days about how life started on Earth. 820 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:57,760 Speaker 2: Around hydrothermal vents in the ocean. Yeah, so who knows. 821 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:01,520 Speaker 2: And then the Cassini probe wrote back, wrote home from 822 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:04,080 Speaker 2: camp not too long ago, and was like, hey, I 823 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:06,479 Speaker 2: sampled some of this water and it's got some mind 824 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:07,480 Speaker 2: blowing stuff in there. 825 00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:10,840 Speaker 1: Yeah for sure. And you know we mentioned earlier the 826 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:16,040 Speaker 1: Cassini spacecraft finished up in twenty seventeen. It was called 827 00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:18,800 Speaker 1: the Grand Finale when it wrapped up its mission because 828 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:23,160 Speaker 1: it on purpose says like, hey, let's just get really 829 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:26,680 Speaker 1: close and just kamikazi this thing and just see what 830 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:28,319 Speaker 1: kind of readings we can get up to the last 831 00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:30,719 Speaker 1: second there. So that's how it ended its mission. But 832 00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,840 Speaker 1: there's a new and dragonfly that's coming up, I believe, 833 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:38,640 Speaker 1: launching in twenty twenty eight and will arrive on Titan 834 00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:42,000 Speaker 1: by twenty thirty four, so I mean, hang on to 835 00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:45,239 Speaker 1: your hat. So it'll be a decade. But then from now, 836 00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:47,080 Speaker 1: but then we're going to start get some I mean 837 00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:49,600 Speaker 1: imagine the changes that were going to happen between now 838 00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:49,879 Speaker 1: and then. 839 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:54,520 Speaker 2: Yeah for sure. And there's actually a really cool animation 840 00:46:55,360 --> 00:47:00,200 Speaker 2: artist interpretation of that Grand Finale of the Cassini pro bit. 841 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:04,200 Speaker 2: It's worth watching on YouTube. Oh cool, you got anything else? 842 00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:06,520 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. 843 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:09,160 Speaker 2: I got one more thing. It turns out in the 844 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:12,759 Speaker 2: northern hemisphere September twenty twenty five will be the best 845 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:15,719 Speaker 2: time to view Saturn because it'll be on the opposite 846 00:47:15,719 --> 00:47:17,399 Speaker 2: side of the Sun from Earth, so it'll be nice 847 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:19,759 Speaker 2: and bright and easy to see. Oh cool. 848 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:23,200 Speaker 1: Well, we'll either think to remind you and we'll probably forget. 849 00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:26,360 Speaker 1: But I imagine that'll be a newsmaker like people on the 850 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,399 Speaker 1: news will be saying, like, hey, go out and look 851 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:30,560 Speaker 1: for Saturn. For sure, might be able to see it 852 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:31,280 Speaker 1: with your eyeballs. 853 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:34,960 Speaker 2: Okay, well, Chuck mentioned eyeballs, so we have no choice 854 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:36,479 Speaker 2: but to unlock listener mail. 855 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:44,560 Speaker 1: Hey guys, this is from Rockney. I'm the mother of one. 856 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:49,120 Speaker 1: This is another, but I bet they met mother probably 857 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:51,879 Speaker 1: I'm the mother of one aber longtime listeners. I don't 858 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:53,879 Speaker 1: remember exactly when I started listening, but it was back 859 00:47:53,920 --> 00:47:56,480 Speaker 1: in high school I graduated. 860 00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:00,520 Speaker 2: Wait a minute, wait, wait, wait, so Rockney is the 861 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:02,760 Speaker 2: mother of one of our listeners. 862 00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:06,560 Speaker 1: I bet you anything they meant to say, I'm another 863 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,840 Speaker 1: one of your longtime listeners. Now that I'm reading it 864 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:10,359 Speaker 1: and doing the. 865 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:12,960 Speaker 2: Math, okay, okay, here we go. 866 00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:15,200 Speaker 1: Hey guys, my name is Rockney. I'm another one of 867 00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:16,160 Speaker 1: your longtime listeners. 868 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:16,799 Speaker 2: Nice. 869 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:20,000 Speaker 1: My girlfriend Anna has never listened to a single episode 870 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,680 Speaker 1: of your podcast. English is her second language, so she's 871 00:48:22,719 --> 00:48:26,680 Speaker 1: probably ana and English spoken word entertainment doesn't quite feel 872 00:48:26,719 --> 00:48:29,359 Speaker 1: relaxing for her yet, so don't hold it against her. 873 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:31,800 Speaker 1: But over the past few weeks, I've been on a mission. 874 00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:34,080 Speaker 1: I've been humming, whistling, and vocalizing these stuff you should 875 00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:36,719 Speaker 1: Know theme song non stop around her, trying to make 876 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:40,200 Speaker 1: it familiar. And this past weekend my experiment finally succeeded. 877 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:43,160 Speaker 1: I called her humming it on her own, completely unprompted. 878 00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:46,840 Speaker 1: I came clean, told her I'd been training her ears, 879 00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:50,520 Speaker 1: explaining it's the theme song of my podcast. She's familiar 880 00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:52,960 Speaker 1: with stuff you should Know through my constant mentions, and 881 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,120 Speaker 1: she just calls it my podcast. We've both had a 882 00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:58,520 Speaker 1: great laugh about it. Recently, I heard a listener mail 883 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,560 Speaker 1: from a mom who casually used as a verb, so 884 00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:04,759 Speaker 1: I figured i'd share my similar success story. So thanks 885 00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:08,440 Speaker 1: for over one point two decades of entertainment, and that 886 00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:09,360 Speaker 1: is from Rockney. 887 00:49:10,080 --> 00:49:12,800 Speaker 2: Thanks a lot, Rockney, we appreciate that. Thanks for trying 888 00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:16,920 Speaker 2: to spread the good word by creating earworms. It's right 889 00:49:18,200 --> 00:49:20,040 Speaker 2: if you want to be like Rockney and let us 890 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:22,960 Speaker 2: know your situation. We love to hear that kind of stuff. 891 00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:25,240 Speaker 2: You can wrap it up, spank it on the bottom, 892 00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:32,399 Speaker 2: and send it off to Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 893 00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:34,879 Speaker 2: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 894 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 895 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:41,680 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.