But why? A podcast for curious kids is known for serious answers to silly questions sent

in by kids just like you. But did you know that but why is now a book series?

Our first book, Our Lama's Ticklish, answers questions from real kids about farm animals.

This colorfully illustrated book is perfect for kids ages 8 to 10. And our second book,

To Fish Breathe Underwater, explores the underwater world of the ocean. Learn more at

But Why Kids.org slash books.

This is But Why, a podcast for curious kids from Vermont Public Radio. I'm Jane Lindtom.

Today we're answering two questions that have to do with space. One about Saturn and

one about a phenomenon a little closer to us, the sky that we see every day.

Our first question comes from four-year-old Francisco, who lives in Virginia's Vermont.

How do Saturn's wings stay on it and go really fast? And how do they spin around?

Hi, this is Carolyn Porco. I'm the leader of the Cassini Imaging Team.

Carolyn Porco is a really big deal in the world of astronomy. The Cassini mission is one

of the U.S. Space Agency's biggest projects, and 16 other countries are involved too.

The Cassini spacecraft took off in 1997. That's probably before you were born. And it took

seven years for it to get to Saturn. Imagine if your road trips with your family took seven

years just to get to your destination. For one thing, you'd need a lot of snacks and

you'd probably get pretty sick of your siblings. Luckily, Cassini is unmanned. That means

no one is actually on board flying the spaceship. It's flown by a team on the ground on this

planet. Before Cassini reached Saturn's orbit, it did flybyes of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter,

and it sent pictures back to scientists on Earth so they could learn more about all of those

planets. But Cassini's main mission is to let scientists learn more about Saturn, since

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