Saturn

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Planets of Our Solar System

Cassini: Saturn

Saturn's three main rings

Hubble Space Telescope: Saturn and moons

Saturn: surface of Titan

Learn about the Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn with an atmosphere of its own

moons of Saturn: Mimas

For Students

Saturn

Read Next

Solar system illustration. (Sun; planets)

A Model of the Cosmos

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?

Mars rover. Mars Pathfinder. NASA. Sojourner.

10 Important Dates in Mars History

Discover

The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

pyramid sunset, egypt

What’s Inside the Great Pyramid?

Ancient Mayan Calendar

Our Days Are Numbered: 7 Crazy Facts About Calendars

Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics

10 Best Hockey Players of All Time

Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics

10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time

number zero, 0 balloon

Is Zero an Even or an Odd Number?

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

Saturn: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Why have Saturn's rings disappeared from view? • Mar. 25, 2025, 8:42 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))

Saturn’s iconic ice and rock rings to disappear this weekend: Here’s why • Mar. 23, 2025, 1:07 AM ET (The Indian Express)

Saturn's rings will temporarily 'disappear' this weekend • Mar. 22, 2025, 4:21 AM ET (NBC)

Sask. astronomer helps with discovery of Saturn's 128 new moons • Mar. 16, 2025, 6:39 AM ET (CBC)

Saturn solidifies its title as moon king with the discovery of 128 new moons • Mar. 14, 2025, 5:46 AM ET (CBC)

Photos and Videos

Cassini: Saturn

Saturn's three main rings

Hubble Space Telescope: Saturn and moons

Saturn: surface of Titan

moons of Saturn: Mimas

Learn about the Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn with an atmosphere of its own

Witness Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn with an actual sound of ring particles striking Cassini

Arrive at Uranus with Voyager 2, know its discoveries, and see close-ups of Miranda

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

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Quiz

M101 (NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy). Hubble Space Telescope image of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). Largest most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. Created from 1994-2003

Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The two orbiting stars r

Extrasolar Planets

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz

27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes

Saturn. Saturn and its rings. Second largest planet of the solar system. Space Art

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

Demystified

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?