THE RINGED WORLD OF SATURN Saturn is the farthest planet from the Sun that can be seen on Earth with the naked eye In 1610 Galileo peered at the gas giant through a telescope He and other astronomers in the centuries that followed were puzzled by Saturn's rings 4
What were the rings made of How did they get there In 2004 NASA's unmanned Cassini Huygens probe began exploring Saturn During its 13 year mission astronomers have learned more about Saturn and its moons than Galileo could ever have imagined 5
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system Jupiter is the largest If Saturn were hollow nearly 764 Earths could fit inside Like Jupiter Saturn is called a gas giant It is mostly made of about 96 percent hydrogen and 3 percent helium XTREME FACT Saturn was called Saturnus by the people of ancient Rome Saturnus was the Roman god of agriculture Astronomers in ancient China called Saturn the earth star It was named after what they believed to be one of the five natural elements wood fire earth metal and water 6
Saturn may have a rocky or liquid metal core The planet is most famous for its shiny rings There are seven main rings They are made mostly of water ice Saturn has 62 known moons 7
