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

Close up of periodic table, focus on nickel, copper, zinc, palladium, silver, cadmium

When Was the Periodic Table Invented?

Moonrise over Tucson, Arizona

Why Doesn’t Arizona Observe Daylight Saving Time?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who formulated the Four Freedoms.

7 Alphabet Soup Agencies that Stuck Around

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

Panoramic view at sunrise of moai, Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile

6 Lost Civilizations

Statue of Liberty in front of the skyline of Manhattan, New York City, New York.

Who Was the Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty?

Saturn: Related Content

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

News •

128 new moons discovered orbiting Saturn, nearly doubling the ringed planet's total • Mar. 13, 2025, 10:15 AM ET (Live Science)

Astronomers Discover 128 New Moons Orbiting Saturn, Cementing the Planet's Title of 'Moon King' • Mar. 12, 2025, 12:27 PM ET (Smithsonian Magazine)

Uranus emits more heat than previously thought • Mar. 11, 2025, 6:16 AM ET (Science News)

Watch: Rare planetary parade caught on camera by our expert stargazers • Mar. 1, 2025, 8:17 AM ET (BBC)

Parade of planets to line up across night sky • Feb. 28, 2025, 1:38 AM ET (BBC)

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 →

Topics

Earth Mars Venus Jupiter Mercury Neptune Uranus

Quiz

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

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

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

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

Space Odyssey

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

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

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

Astronomy and Space Quiz

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

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

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

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?