♄ Outer Solar System
Saturn
The most alien beauty in our neighbourhood.
Nothing in the solar system prepares you for Saturn. Its rings stretch 282,000 kilometres from edge to edge yet are rarely more than a kilometre thick — proportionally thinner than a sheet of paper scaled up to the size of a sports field. Saturn is so light that, given an ocean large enough, it would float. It is the most alien beauty in our neighbourhood, and the planet most likely to make an astronomer fall in love with space.
"The most alien beauty in our neighbourhood."
Key Data
Distance from Sun
Ring Span
Ring Thickness
Density (less than water)
Confirmed Moons
Orbital Speed
Diameter
Peak Wind Speed
One Remarkable Thing
Saturn's moon Titan has a thick nitrogen atmosphere and liquid methane lakes on its surface. It is the only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere — and one of the most compelling places we might one day search for life.
Scale Relative to Earth
Saturn's diameter is 116,460 km — 9.5 times Earth's. Its iconic rings extend to 282,000 km across, yet are less than 1 km thick.