Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet in our solar system. This gas giant is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. It has no solid surface on which a spacecraft could land, but its atmosphere, rings, and moons give scientists several very different environments to study.
At a glance
Orbit: About 29.4 Earth years around the Sun. Rotation: About 10.7 hours. Type: Gas giant. Explored close up by: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and the Cassini–Huygens mission. These are rounded values; planetary measurements may be refined.
The rings
Saturn’s rings spread far beyond the planet, yet their main structures are remarkably thin compared with their width. Countless pieces of ice and rock orbit at different speeds, forming bright bands and gaps. The rings are dynamic: their particles collide, and Saturn’s moons influence their structure. Other giant planets have rings, but Saturn’s are the most prominent from Earth.
Moons worth knowing
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has a thick nitrogen atmosphere and lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane. Enceladus sprays icy material from fractures near its south pole; evidence points to an ocean beneath its ice. The moons are distinct worlds, and changing discoveries make a fixed moon count a poor fact to memorize.
Exploration
Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, examining the planet, rings and moons over changing seasons. The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe, carried by Cassini, descended to Titan in 2005. NASA’s Dragonfly mission is being developed to explore Titan with a rotorcraft, extending the study of this remarkable moon.
Explore NASA images and sources
NASA Saturn image gallery · NASA Saturn overview · NASA Saturn facts. Images have individual credits and usage information on their NASA pages.
Return to the Solar System guide.
