Saturn is the second largest planet. Only Jupiter is larger. Saturn has seven thin, flat rings around it. The rings consist of numerous narrow ringlets, which are made up of ice particles that travel around the planet. The gleaming rings make Saturn one of the most beautiful objects in the solar system. Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus are the only other planets known to have rings. Their rings are much fainter than those around Saturn.
Saturn's diameter at its equator is about 74,900 miles (120,540 kilometers), almost 10 times that of the earth. The planet can be seen from the earth with the unaided eye, but its rings cannot. Saturn was the farthest planet from the earth that the ancient astronomers knew about. They named it for the Roman god of agriculture. |
