Saturn chemical composition

Aspects of the chemical composition of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were measured by the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft in the 1980s and 1990s,... 

Jupiter and Uranus are outer planets composed mainly of gases. Jupiter s atmosphere contains reddish-brown clouds of ammonia. Uranus has an atmosphere made up mainly of hydrogen and helium with clouds of water vapor. This combination looks greenish to an outside observer. In addition, Mars has an atmosphere that is 95% carbon dioxide, and Venus has a permanent cloud cover of sulfur dioxide that appears pale yellow to an observer. Mercury has no permanent atmosphere. Saturn has 1 km thick dust and ice rings that orbit the planet. The eight planets in our solar system are diverse, each having different chemical compositions within and surrounding the planets. Out Earth is by far the friendliest planet for human existence. 

Voyager 1 flew by Saturn on November 12, 1980, at a distance of three planet radii from the planet s atmosphere, while Voyager 2 flew past the planet on August 26, 1981, at a distance of 2.67 planet radii. The two spacecraft carried a variety of instruments that allowed them to measure the chemical composition of the planet s atmosphere, the presence and strength of its magnetic field, any electrical properties associated with the planet, and other physical characteristics of the planet, its satellites, and ring system. 

Researchers have learned a vast amount of new information about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Objects in the last century. Improved terrestrial telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, and space explorations such as Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, and Cassini have produced new data that will take astrochemists years to analyze and interpret, providing them with even more detailed information about the chemical composition of the atmospheres, satellites, surfaces, and other features of the outer planets and their associated bodies. 

Table VIII. Chemical Composition of the Atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn...

Chemical compositions of the liquid products were identified using a Varian Saturn 3 GC/mass spectrometer with a HP-1 capillary column. The GC was programmed at 40 °C for 0.5 min and then increased at 10 °C/min to 300 °C, and finally held with an isothermal for 10 min. The injector temperature was 300 °C, and the injection size was 1 pi. The flow rate of the carrier gas (helium) was 0.6 ml/min. The ion source temperature was 230 °C for the mass-selective detector. The compoimds were identified by comparison with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Mass Spectral Database. 

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