Saturn is the planet in our Solar System known for its prominent ring system.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, so it does not have a solid surface like Earth. Its pale appearance and rapid rotation produce a noticeable equatorial bulge.
The rings are made mostly of water-ice particles mixed with smaller amounts of rocky material and dust. They are divided into many bands and gaps, with the broad A, B, and C rings among the most familiar. The rings are extremely wide but comparatively thin; their structure is shaped by gravity, orbital motion, and the influence of Saturn’s moons.
Galileo Galilei first observed Saturn’s unusual appearance through a telescope in 1610, although his instrument could not resolve the rings clearly. Christiaan Huygens correctly identified them as a ring in 1655. Saturn has dozens of confirmed moons, including Titan, which possesses a dense atmosphere and methane lakes on its surface.