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Saturn

A ringed giant with a growing census of small moons.

Quick facts

Object type: Gas giant

Average distance from Sun: 9.572 AU; 1,432,000,000 km; 889,803,547 miles

Distance note: Average orbital distance (semimajor axis), not the planet’s changing distance from Earth.

Diameter: 120,536 km; 74,898 miles

Diameter note: Equatorial diameter; approximate and rounded.

Known moons: 293

Moon count last verified: 2026-10-03

About this count: Known natural satellites; counts change when discoveries are confirmed.

Year: About 29.4 Earth years

Rotation: About 10.7 hours

Solar day: About 10.7 hours

Gravity note: No solid surface. Surface gravity is omitted.

Temperature: About −140 °C (−220 °F) at the 1-bar atmospheric level.

Atmosphere / composition: Mostly hydrogen and helium.

Rings: Extensive rings of separate particles, mainly water ice.

Remember this

Saturn’s rings are made of countless separate pieces orbiting the planet.

Explore this world

Saturn’s bright rings reveal orbital structure on a grand scale. Its moons offer contrasting environments: Titan has methane lakes, while Enceladus sends water-rich material into space. Small, distant satellites continue to be added to the recognized moon census.

What makes it distinctive

A dated count is a snapshot of discovery. The current count is checked against JPL’s recognized-satellite table, separately from any number printed on a flag.

Exploration

Voyager made flybys. Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 until 2017, studying its rings, atmosphere and moons.

Mission updates

Cassini’s scientific archive remains an important source for understanding the Saturn system.

Mission information last verified: 2026-10-03

Image credit

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

View the original image and its context

Sources and further reading

NASA science and mission reference

NASA Goddard planetary data

JPL recognized satellite census

NASA science and mission reference

Image source and credit

Science last verified: 2026-10-03

This permanent Solar System guide accompanies reusable AstroTours Planet Walk flags. Discovery continues, so online information can change while your flag's QR address stays the same.