7 mesmerising images of Saturn captured by NASA

Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system, with an equatorial diameter of about 74,897 miles (120,500 kilometers). That's nine times wider than Earth.

Saturn is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, with a smaller area of hot liquid metal under its layers of gases.

Saturn's rings are made of ice and rocks, and extend up to 175,000 miles (280,000 kilometers) out from the planet. The rings are more easily seen than those of any other planet.

Saturn has more than 140 moons, including Titan, Enceladus, and Phoebe. Titan is Saturn's largest moon, and the only moon in our solar system known to have a thick atmosphere and clouds.

Saturn orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.4 billion kilometers, and takes about 29.4 Earth years to complete one orbit. 

Saturn rotates very rapidly, with a day lasting only 10 hours and 39 minutes. This rapid rotation causes the planet to flatten at its poles and bulge at its equator.

Saturn is the least dense planet in our solar system, with a mean density of 0.69 g per cubic centimeter. 

Credit: NASA