Big Blue Disk 16/bbd16.zip/SATURN.TXT

Text File | 1987-11-20 | 2KB | 38 lines

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^C^1SATURN
^Cby Thierry G. Lombry


   Saturn, the sixth planet of the solar system, has always intrigued
astronomers.  It was named after the same god in the Roman pantheon who also
gave us Saturday.  To the ancients, it was just one of several bright lights in
the sky which moved around unlike the fixed stars: these were named "planets"
from a word for "wanderer."  However, when Galileo turned his newly-invented
telescope to Saturn, an unusual aspect was discovered: its rings.  Galileo
thought at first that they were two moons that just happened to be on opposite
edges of Saturn, but that was disproven when they stayed in those positions
instead of rotating.  Ultimately, more powerful telescopes revealed that there
was a series of rings extending all the way around the planet.  Several years
ago, the flyby of the Voyager space probe yielded beautiful color pictures of
Saturn and its rings.

   Saturn's rings are now known not to be unique; rings have been discovered
around Uranus as well.  However, Saturn still has the most spectacular system of
rings known at present.

   This program shows you the position of Saturn's rings and satellites at a
given date and time, then gives you an animated graphic letting you watch the
satellites as they revolve.  If you're an amateur astronomer, this program will
give you an idea of what to look for as you turn your telescope Saturnward. For
everyone else, just sit back and watch the show.

   To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type:  ^1SATURN^0.

DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FSATURN.EXE
^FBRUN30.EXE
^FRETURN30.EXE