Astronomy · Planets
Saturn
The ringed gas giant.
- Order from Sun
- Sixth planet
- Type
- Gas giant
- Famous feature
- Prominent ring system
- Notable moon
- Titan, which has a thick atmosphere
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA media (public domain)
Gallery
Saturn Atmosphere
1999
NASA/JPL · NASA media (public domain)
The ringed planet
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the most visually striking, encircled by a broad, bright ring system made of countless particles of ice and rock. The rings are easily seen through a small telescope.
A giant of gas
Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant with no solid surface and a deep atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. It is the second-largest planet in the Solar System.
Moons and Titan
Saturn has many moons. The largest, Titan, is bigger than the planet Mercury and has a thick atmosphere and lakes of liquid methane, making it one of the most intriguing worlds in the Solar System.
Knowledge connections
How this connects across Asteria Star — scientific, cultural, and astrological links are kept separate.
Scientific connections
- Part ofSolar System
- Parent ofTitan
- Parent ofEnceladus
- Parent ofRhea
- Parent ofIapetus
- Parent ofDione
- Parent ofTethys
- Parent ofMimas
- Associated withCassini Arrives at Saturn
- Associated withThe Roche Limit
- Associated withSolar System Explorer
- Associated withPlanet Planner
Observational connections
- Observed byChristiaan Huygens
- Observed byGiovanni Cassini
Mission connections
- Target ofCassini–Huygens
- Target ofVoyager 1
- Target ofVoyager 2
- Target ofPioneer 11
Discovery connections
- Depicted inSaturn — The Day the Earth Smiled
Related
- Related toThe Discovery of Titan
- Related toThe Nature of Saturn's Rings
Related entries
Related missions
Space mission
Cassini–Huygens
Cassini–Huygens was a NASA–ESA–ASI mission launched in 1997 that orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017 and delivered the Huygens probe to the surface of its moon Titan.
Space mission
Pioneer 11
Pioneer 11 flew past Jupiter and became the first spacecraft to encounter Saturn.
Space mission
Voyager 1
Voyager 1 is a NASA space probe launched in 1977 that explored Jupiter and Saturn and has since become the most distant human-made object, traveling in interstellar space.
Space mission
Voyager 2
Voyager 2 is a NASA space probe launched in 1977 and the only spacecraft to have flown past all four giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.