Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth. Although only one-eighth the average density of Earth, with its larger volume Saturn is just over 95 times more massive. Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture, its astronomical symbol (♄) represents the god's sickle. Saturn's interior is probably composed of a core of iron–nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds). This core is surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and finally outside the Frenkel line a gaseous outer layer. Saturn has a pale yellow hue due to ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. Saturn has a prominent ring system that consists of nine continuous main rings and three discontinuous arcs and that is composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty-two moons are known to orbit Saturn, of which fifty-three are officially named. This does not include the hundreds of moonlets comprising the rings.

The main attraction of Saturn are the many moons surrounding it, home to a number of small colonies. The ‘capital’ of Saturn’s colonies is the city of Chronos, on the moon Titan. These colonies thrive off an industry based around what are known as ‘scooper ships’, which are a type of craft that sail along the rings of Saturn and capture the most valuable compounds to be later sold and used in the manufacturing of many Dominion products. These minerals and compounds are highly valuable, but the size of the ring system effectively eliminates the need for competition. Aside from the market valued compounds, there are also another class of ships that harvest ice from the rings, to convert into water for the colonies. On many stations and worlds controlled by the Dominion, one could purchase this high class, brand name water, but for the colonists and workers around Saturn, it’s their only source. The colonists do however face an array of problems, including pirates that see scooper ships as easy pickings, as well as a group of Olympians known as The Cult of Cronus, who believe the planet belongs to them and that within the core of the gas giant exists something of enormous power.