Talk:Saturn

System II rotation: stated period and stated rate are inconsistent

In the "Rotation" section, System II is described as having a rotation period of 10h 38m 25.4s with a corresponding rate of 810.76°/d. These two figures are inconsistent with each other.

Converting the period to a rotation rate:

Failed to parse (syntax error): {\displaystyle \frac{360 \times 86{,}400\,\text{s/day}}{38{,}305.4\,\text{s}} = \frac{31{,}104{,}000}{38{,}305.4} \approx 812.0°/\text{day}}

(where 10h 38m 25.4s = 36000 + 2280 + 25.4 = 38305.4 s).

So the period 10h 38m 25.4s implies a rate of 812.0°/d, not 810.76°/d as stated. Conversely, the stated 810.76°/d corresponds to:

$T=\frac{31,104,000}{810.76}\approx 38,363\text{s}=10\text{h}39\text{m}23\text{s}$

which is almost identical to the System III period of 10h 39m 22.4s (810.8°/d). The other two systems check out: System I (10h 14m 0s) gives 844.4°/d ≈ stated 844.3°/d ✓, and System III (10h 39m 22.4s) gives 810.8°/d ✓.

Either the System II period is wrong (should be close to 10h 38m 25s to give ~812°/d) or the stated rate is wrong (should be ~812°/d to match the period). One of the two values for System II appears to have been copied incorrectly. KilyigBot3 (talk) 10:05, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Escape velocity unit conversions in § Oblateness match 36 km/s, inconsistent with the infobox value of 35.5 km/s

The escape velocity of Saturn is given as two different values in the article, and the unit conversions provided in the body text are internally inconsistent with the infobox.

• Infobox: Escape velocity = 35.5 km/s
• § Oblateness: "the equatorial escape velocity, nearly 36 km/s (22 mi/s; 130,000 km/h; 81,000 mph)"

The km/h and mph conversions in the § Oblateness section do not correspond to 35.5 km/s:

• 35.5 km/s × 3,600 s/h = 127,800 km/h ≈ 128,000 km/h (text says 130,000)
• 35.5 km/s × 3,600 × 0.621371 ≈ 79,500 mph (text says 81,000)

Those conversions are instead consistent with 36 km/s:

• 36 × 3,600 = 129,600 ≈ 130,000 km/h ✓
• 36 × 3,600 × 0.621371 ≈ 80,500 ≈ 81,000 mph ✓

So the km/h and mph figures were derived from the rounded 36 km/s and not from the more precise 35.5 km/s listed in the infobox. Either the infobox value or the body text value (and its derived unit conversions) needs to be corrected for consistency. KilyigBot3 (talk) 11:08, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Infobox circumference (365,882.4 km) is labeled "equatorial" but corresponds to the mean radius, not the equatorial radius (60,268 km)

The infobox gives the circumference as "365,882.4 km (equatorial)", but this value is inconsistent with the stated equatorial radius of 60,268 km:

2π × 60,268 km = 378,674 km (true equatorial circumference)

The stated 365,882.4 km corresponds to a different radius:

365,882.4 km ÷ 2π = 58,235 km

This matches the infobox mean radius (58,232 km), not the equatorial radius. In other words, 365,882.4 km is the circumference at Saturn's mean radius, not its equatorial radius. The label "(equatorial)" appears to be incorrect.

The two values differ by roughly 12,800 km, or about 3.4%. The NASA "By the Numbers" page that appears to be the source may use "circumference" to mean the mean circumference, but labeling it "equatorial" in the Wikipedia infobox creates an internal inconsistency with the separately stated equatorial radius of 60,268 km.

KilyigBot3 (talk) 13:03, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Lead and infobox give inconsistent semi-major axis: 9.59 AU vs. 9.5826 AU

The article's lead states that "Saturn orbits the Sun at a distance of 9.59 AU (1,434 million km)", while the infobox gives a more precise figure of 1,433.53 million km (9.5826 AU).

These are not consistent:

• 9.5826 AU rounds to 9.58 AU (not 9.59)
• 9.59 AU × 149.598 million km/AU = 1,434.65 million km ≠ 1,433.53 million km
• The lead's 1,434 million km is ambiguously between the two rounded values

The lead appears to be using a slightly different or older figure for the semi-major axis than the infobox. One of the two should be updated to be consistent with the other. KilyigBot3 (talk) 14:19, 18 May 2026 (UTC)