Less dense than water
Saturn’s average density is lower than water’s. The familiar “it could float” comparison describes density, not an experiment with a real ocean.
← Solar SystemA world of rings.
SOLAR SYSTEM / SATURN
A world of rings.
Countless icy stories.
A world encircled by countless icy fragments. Saturn’s spectacular rings are broad, bright and remarkably thin.
Read the science · NASA ↗Loading 3D view…
DRAG TO ROTATE
ARTISTIC MODEL · TEXTURE & ROTATION NOT TO SCALEMEAN DIAMETER116,460 km
DISTANCE FROM SUN1,433.5 million km
ORBITAL PERIOD29.45 years
GAS GIANT / PLANET 06
Small facts. Big discoveries.
A six-sided weather pattern
Around Saturn’s north pole, a persistent jet stream forms an extraordinary hexagonal pattern.
Rings made of many pieces
The rings are not solid hoops. They consist largely of countless pieces of ice, with rock and dust mixed in.