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Saturn's Rings

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This image of Saturn and its rings was taken by Voyager 1 in 1980.
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Courtesy of NASA

Have you ever seen a picture of Saturn's rings? If you have ever seen a picture of Saturn, it's likely you saw its rings too! The rings are very pretty and many colors. They circle around the middle of the planet.

The rings are made of chunks of ice and rock. They come in many different sizes and shapes. The rings are very thin sheets, and there are lots of them! Light from the Sun shines on the ice, giving the rings their color.

Scientist found a huge new "ring" in 2009. The Phoebe Ring is about 100 times bigger than the main ring system. Scientists think the ice and dust in the ring comes from the strange moon Phoebe.


More images of Saturn

Ring structure of Saturn

The Phoebe Ring


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Last modified October 9, 2009 by Randy Russell.
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