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

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?

Solar system illustration. (Sun; planets)

A Model of the Cosmos

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

Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar

Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar

US Marines firing at Fallujah, Iraq, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq War.

Timeline of the 2000s

Aspirin pills.

7 Drugs that Changed the World

Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.

6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Saturn: Related Content

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

News •

NASA’s Webb Spots Clouds On Titan, Saturn’s ‘Earth-Like’ Moon • May 17, 2025, 9:40 AM ET (Forbes)

James Webb Space Telescope captures ghostly images of clouds on Saturn's largest moon Titan • May 14, 2025, 6:33 AM ET (Space)

NASA's Dragonfly nuclear-powered helicopter clears key hurdle ahead of 2028 launch toward huge Saturn moon Titan • Apr. 27, 2025, 5:36 AM ET (Space)

A ‘sad face’ in the sky: Singaporeans catch rare ‘smiley’ celestial alignment • Apr. 25, 2025, 1:23 AM ET (Straits Times)

Mercury, Venus and Saturn to delight stargazers in a parade across the sky • Apr. 24, 2025, 5:42 AM ET (NPR)

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

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

Space Odyssey

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

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?