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Astroscopes - The Enchanted Astrologer
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saturn.dat
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1994-10-21
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Saturn is the planet of responsibility, self-control, and maturity.
Expressed in its positive form, Saturn instills self-discipline, patience,
trustworthiness, integrity, and the sense of responsibility and fortitude
required to overcome obstacles and hardship. When Saturn is prominent
in your horoscope, you are a hard worker!
If Saturn is afflicted (at odds with another planet in your horoscope),
Saturn's influence results in reckless ambition, selfishness, pessimism,
inflexibility, close-mindedness, and even cruelty.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest
planet in the solar system (behind Jupiter). More than 888 million miles
from the Sun, Saturn completes an orbit every 29.46 years. It is 95 times
more massive than the earth, and is a gas giant (like Jupiter) primarily
composed of hydrogen and helium gas.
Saturn's most famous feature, its rings, were discovered in 1610 by
Galileo. When observed through a telescope, Saturn's A and B rings are
clearly visible, but only under certain conditions can the D and E rings
be seen. When the Pioneer 11 spacecraft flew by Saturn in 1979, it
revealed that Saturn's rings are actually composed of thousands of tiny
ringlets, each of which circles the planet!
Saturn has numerous small satellites orbiting it, and one large moon
called Titan. Larger than Mercury, Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere with
traces of other gases. Because its surface temperature is roughly -182
degrees Celsius, methane may be present in the forms of snow, rain, ice,
and vapor (like water on earth).
In Roman mythology, Saturn was initially a god of agriculture. Later
on he became associated with the Greek god Cronus (who was dethroned
by his son Jupiter). Saturn was honored for a week in December each
year during a festival known as the Saturnalia. During this week of
goodwill, business was stopped, executions were postponed, and slaves
were granted increased freedom and privileges. Saturn fathered Neptune
(god of the sea) and Pluto (god of the underworld).