Saturn

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Interactive comparing planet sizes in the solar system from left to right: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

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

Saturn: Related Content

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

Last Updated: Jan 16, 2026

News •

What is a planetary conjunction? When, how to see moon, Saturn in January • Jan. 16, 2026, 2:08 AM ET (USA Today)

Saturn-mass rogue planet revealed in unique new observations • Jan. 8, 2026, 11:32 PM ET (EarthSky)

Astronomers measure the mass of a rogue planet drifting through the galaxy • Jan. 4, 2026, 2:45 AM ET (ScienceDaily)

Astronomers detect rare 'free floating' exoplanet 10,000 light-years from Earth • Jan. 2, 2026, 11:40 PM ET (Space)

Scientists Just Clocked a ‘Rogue’ Planet the Size of Saturn • Jan. 1, 2026, 10:02 PM ET (Scientific American)

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

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

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

Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.

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

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

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