OCT 30, 2017 7:19 PM PDT

Here's What Would Happen if You Fell Into Saturn's Atmosphere

WRITTEN BY: Anthony Bouchard


Have you ever thought about what might happen if you or an astronaut accidentally drifted into Saturn's atmosphere?

In the upper-most layer of Saturn's atmosphere, free-fall would purportedly feel a lot like a skydiving right here on Earth because of a similar gravitational pull and atmospheric density. On the other hand, it would be chilly because of the planet's distance from the Sun and the surrounding colors would be very yellow because of the atmospheric composition.

As you made it into the next layer of Saturn's atmosphere, your surroundings would become browner and darker. The atmospheric pressure would increase to 2-4 times that of Earth's, and you'd begin slowing down. Experts also seem to agree that you'd start to warm up after experiencing the chillier layers above.

In the next layer of Saturn's atmosphere, you might not be able to see your hands in front of you as the atmosphere continues to get even darker. Nevertheless, you would experience high-velocity winds and lightning storms. There'd be a chance of electrocution, but if you survived that, you'd make it to the next layer.

In the final layers of Saturn's atmosphere, you would experience temperatures so high that you couldn't survive. The conditions would erode your space suit and body away, just like they did to the Cassini probe.

If there were some miraculous way that you could survive those temperatures, then you would eventually reach the planet's core. Realistically, you'd be dead and gone long before then, but still, planetary scientists have no real idea of what the core is composed of because we've never seen it before.

All in all, falling into Saturn's atmosphere would be a one-way death sentence, and that much is obvious; but you'd still get to experience quite the thrilling ride on your way down.

About the Author
Other
Fascinated by scientific discoveries and media, Anthony found his way here at LabRoots, where he would be able to dabble in the two. Anthony is a technology junkie that has vast experience in computer systems and automobile mechanics, as opposite as those sound.
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