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| 6th planet from the Sun,d the second largest planet in the solar system | |
| Average distance from the Sun | 1,429,400,000 km / 9.54 AU |
| Diameter | 120,536 km (equatorial) |
| Mass | 5.68e26 kg |
| Orbital period around the Sun | 29.46 Earth years / 10,750 Earth days |
| Number of moons | 53 named satellites, 9 recently discovered but not named |
| Ring System | about 7 distinct rings, about 250,000 km or more in diameter |
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| Saturn’s most distinctive feature is the thousands of rings that orbit the planet. Saturn’s rings are beautiful even in small amateur telescopes, especially when the planet is at its greatest tilt to the Earth, exposing the maximum surface area of the ring system. The ring particles seem to be composed primarily of water ice, but they may also include rocky particles with icy coatings. Saturn has more than 30 moons. The largest, Titan, is prominent in views through a small telescope. Saturn is less dense than water—if you could fit Saturn in a bathtub, it would float. | |
Our Solar System
Our solar system is located on the edge of a spiral arm called Orion’s Arm, and is one-half to two-thirds of the way (28,000 light-years) from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.The Sun, Sol
The Inner Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
The Moon
Mars
The Asteroid Belt
Dwarf planet, Ceres
Asteroid, Ida
Asteroid, Vesta
Asteroid, Eros
The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
The Kuiper Belt
Dwarf planet, Pluto
Dwarf planet, Eris
The Oort Cloud
Dwarf planet, Sedna
Comet Halley
Comet Hale-Bopp
Glossary of Terms
