Uncover the mystery behind Saturn’s iconic rings. ExtremeTech explains their origins and the science of our solar system.

So how, then, did Saturn get out of its multi-billion-year resonance with Neptune? In computer simulations, Wisdom and his colleagues tested various scenarios. The most likely, they found, is that ...

Saturn's rings were likely formed as a result of an 84th moon being destroyed, freeing the planet from being trapped in Neptune's orbit. How did the planet Saturn get its iconic set of rings ...

NASA image showing how Saturn's rings will appear to disappear during its equinox in 2025. NASA. The last time this was visible was in September 2009, and will occur again in October 2038.

Saturn's rings might have formed 100 million years ago when one of its icy moons was ripped apart by the planet's gravity. Skip to main content. Open menu Close menu. Space. Search.

In early 2025, you will get a chance to have an even more unusual view: Saturn, without its rings obscuring it. Saturn will not have its distinctive rings forever.

Then in 1997, NASA launched the Cassini orbiter, a joint venture with the European Space Agency to probe Saturn, its moons, and its ring system.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet in our solar system after Jupiter. It is regarded as the 'jewel of the solar system' with its sunning rings.

Without its rings, Saturn looks really boring. Super blah. Erase those bangles—as blogger Jason Kottke did (above) from a NASA photo—and the planet is the blandest sphere in our solar system.

Saturn has at least 146 moons, of which 63 are named—and thousands of moonlets are hiding inside its rings. Four of our planets have rings, but Saturn's are enormous and complex, in a class of ...