ABOUT THE PLANET SATURN
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, with the largest planet rings in the Solar System. It is the second largest planet after Jupiter, and more recently, as many other moons have been discovered, it has surpassed the number of Jupiter moons and is now considered to be the most satellite planet. Important Facts & Summary From ancient times Saturn has been known to mankind for its light and proximity to the earth. It is impossible to credit man with the discovery of Saturn, however, the first telescopic observation was made by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Thanks to an obscure telescope at the time, Galileo could not see the Saturn rings. Discovery of the rings was made by Christiaan Huygens in 1659. Saturn is named after the Roman god of harvest and time, similar to the ancient Greek deity Cronos. Of the five visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter), Saturn is farther away from Earth, at a distance of 10.6 AU and an average of 9.6 AU away from the Sun. The light takes about 1
