Planet · Gas giant

Saturn

Type: Gas giant
Diameter: 120,536 km
Distance from Sun: 1,433.5 M km
Surface gravity: 9 m/s²
Mean temp.: -140 °C
Moons: 62

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Overview

Scientific overview

Saturn is a gas giant in orbit around The Sun, at a mean distance of 1,433.5 million km from the Sun.

Physical characteristics

Mass: 568 ×10²⁴ kg
Diameter: 120,536 km
Radius: 60,268 km
Density: 0.687 g/cm³
Surface gravity: 9 m/s²
Escape velocity: 35.5 km/s
Rotation period: 10.7 h
Mean temperature: -140 °C

Scale

Compared to Earth

Earth

Saturn

Saturn is 9.5× Earth

120,536 km across · Earth is 12,742 km

Orbit

Distance from Sun: 1,433.5 million km (9.582 AU)
Orbital period: 29.42 years
Perihelion: 1,352.6 million km
Aphelion: 1,514.5 million km
Eccentricity: 0.057
Orbital inclination: 2.5°
Axial tilt: 26.7°
Orbital velocity: 9.7 km/s

Gallery

Saturn Atmosphere
1999
NASA/JPL · NASA media (public domain)
Source archive ↗

Observation

How this was captured

Observatory / instrument: Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem
Mission: Cassini-Huygens
Source: NASA
Observation date: 2005-02-24

Moons (7)

Exploration

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

Quick facts

Type: Gas giant
System: The Sun
Moons: 62
Ring system: Yes

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

High evidenceconfirmed
Saturn is the second-largest planet, a gas giant renowned for its bright, extensive ring system composed largely of water ice.
Source: NASA (NSSDCA) — NASA Planetary Fact Sheet · Public domain (US Government work)
- NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, Planetary Fact Sheet

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

DatasetApproximate Positions of the Planets

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech) (n.d.). Approximate Positions of the Planets. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech). https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html

@misc{cite:jpl-approx-positions,
  title        = {Approximate Positions of the Planets},
  organization = {NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html},
  note         = {Public-domain Keplerian orbital elements and rates (Standish) — the method behind the computed planet positions, rise/set, and visibility.}
}

DatasetSaturn Fact Sheet

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA (n.d.). Saturn Fact Sheet. NASA Goddard — NSSDCA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html

@misc{cite:factsheet-planet-saturn,
  title        = {Saturn Fact Sheet},
  organization = {NASA Goddard — NSSDCA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html},
  note         = {Physical and orbital parameters for Saturn.}
}

Institutional pagePlanets — NASA Science

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Planets — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/planets/

@misc{cite:nasa-planets,
  title        = {Planets — NASA Science},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/planets/},
  note         = {NASA overview of the planets: how the naked-eye planets appear and move through the sky.}
}

Institutional pageSaturn — NASA Solar System Exploration

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Saturn — NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/

@misc{cite:nasa-planet-saturn,
  title        = {Saturn — NASA Solar System Exploration},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
  note         = {NASA overview of Saturn.}
}

Quality & authority

Complete

Reviewed

Description: Complete
Source coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Citation coverage: Complete
Image coverage: Complete

Data from the NASA Planetary Fact Sheet & JPL (public domain). See source quality.

Saturn

Scientific overview

Physical characteristics

Compared to Earth

Orbit

Gallery

How this was captured

Moons (7)

Titan

Rhea

Iapetus

Dione

Tethys

Enceladus

Mimas

Exploration

Voyager 1

Voyager 2

Cassini–Huygens

Sources