How Many Rings Does the Planet Saturn Have?


Knowing exactly how many rings the planet Saturn has is practically impossible. We know that Saturn has 7 main rings, but these are actually groups of smaller rings which make up each larger main ring. There are about 30 individual rings within these ring groups, but these are also made of thousands of smaller ringlets. Combined, they make up the most intricate and impressive ring system in the Milky Way. thedailyECO learns more about the composition and structure of its ring system by asking, how many rings does the planey Saturn have?
Does Saturn have rings?
Saturn has rings. While it is not the only planet in our solar system to have them, it is the planet most associated with being ringed. This is partly because it is the only ring system visible from our planet Earth. Among the other planets which have a ring system we find Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune None of these system compare to the size and complexity of Saturn.
Saturn's rings are composed primarily of ice and rock particles. These range in size from tiny grains of dust to enormous fragments. It is hard to know how many rings the planet Saturn has exactly. While there are 7 main ring groups, these groups are made up of smaller rings. About 30 smaller rings compromise these groups, but they themselves are made of even smaller ringlets. For this reason, the main ring system is split into the following groups:
- D ring
- C ring
- B ring
- A ring
- F ring
- G ring
- E ring
The reason these are not listed alphabetically is because they are in order of their proximity to the planet, but they were not discovered in this order. The A, B, and C rings are the most prominent and were among the first to be studied in detail. The D, E, F, and G rings are fainter and more tenuous, with the D ring being closest to Saturn and the E ring being the outermost.
Now we know the main rings, we can discover the ring groups in more detail. Before we do, you may want to know more about the rings of the planet Neptune in our related guide.

D ring
It is the closest ring group to the planet Saturn and also the weakest, making it barely visible from Earth. It is for this reason it was not discovered until later. It contains very small particles of ice and dust and is extremely thin, being only a few hundred meters thick. Its proximity to Saturn makes it interact with the planet's atmosphere, causing its particles to slowly disintegrate.
C ring
Known as the Twilight Ring, it is more prominent than the D Ring and larger in extent. Despite this, it is still relatively faint. This ring is affected by ripples originating in the D Ring. It also contains significant bands and divisions. It is composed primarily of extremely small, unevenly distributed particles of ice and dust.
B ring
It is the brightest and most massive of all the rings of Saturn. The density of particles in Ring B is so high that it blocks 99% of sunlight, giving it a solid and striking appearance. In its central and most opaque part there are disturbances called radial wedges.
Ring A
Located beyond the Encke Gap, the A Ring is known for its great clarity. It contains several small satellites that help maintain its stable structure known as shepherd moons. It is composed of ice and dust particles that display a series of bands with distinct characteristics. Its relative clarity helped its early discovery.

Ring F
It is a thin and less bright ring that lies outside the A Ring. Its structure is constantly changing due to the influence of two small shepherd moons, Pandora and Prometheus, that accompany it in its orbit. It is formed by a central ring and a spiral of dust that surrounds it.
Ring G
Located between the F and E rings is the very weak and narrow G ring. It is one of the outermost rings of Saturn, as it is more than 168 thousand km from the center of the planet and more than 15 thousand km from the nearest moon. Its material is believed to come from particles ejected by impacts on small nearby moons.
Ring E
This is one of Saturn's outer rings. Its composition includes microscopic ice particles originating from the geysers on the moon Enceladus which expel frozen water into space. This material forms an extremely faint but extensive ring, extending far beyond the other main rings. In addition, its relationship with Enceladus makes it a key point for the study of the interactions between Saturn's moons and rings.
Facts about Saturn and its rings
In addition to its ring system, Saturn has many other features that make it one of the most interesting planets in the solar system. Some interesting facts about Saturn include:
- It is very large: second only to Jupiter, Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system. Its diameter is just over 120,000 kilometres, which is equivalent to about nine times the diameter of planet Earth.
- It is the least dense and flattest planet in our solar system: despite its large size, Saturn is the least dense planet in the solar system, being even less dense than water. Like all planets, Saturn is not perfectly spherical. Unlike all planets, its shape is more like an oval. This is due to its low density and rapid rotation, characteristics that make it the flattest planet in the solar system.
- It contains many moons: although it is very difficult to establish exactly how many moons Saturn has, it is estimated that it has more than 200, only 83 of which have known orbits and are located outside its rings. Of these 83, only 13 have a diameter greater than 50 kilometers. Learn more about how satellites affect planets with our article on the 27 moons of Uranus.
- It has a giant moon: among the moons of Saturn we do know, we can find Titan. This is a moon larger than Mercury and the second largest moon in the Solar System. It is the only satellite known so far that has an atmosphere that appears to be made of nitrogen, methane and other components.
- It has rings visible from Earth: Saturn is the only planet in the solar system whose rings can be observed from Earth with telescopes.
- The length of the day is shorter compared to that on Earth: due to its rapid rotation speed, a day on Saturn lasts approximately 10.7 Earth hours. For this reason, days and nights on Saturn are quite short compared to those on our own planet.
- Its rings are thin: although Saturn's rings have a huge surface area, they are relatively thin. Their thickness is on average 20 meters, although in some regions they can reach up to several kilometers in thickness.
- Cassini Division is the first observed gap in Saturn's rings: the Cassini Division is a notable gap in Saturn's rings that was discovered by Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1675. This gap separates the A and B rings.
Now you know how many rings Saturn has, you may want to learn more about another ringed planet with our article sharing fun facts about the planet Uranus.
If you want to read similar articles to How Many Rings Does the Planet Saturn Have?, we recommend you visit our Facts about Earth and the universe category.
- Espresate., J. (2000). The rings of Saturn.
https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/644/64405910.pdf