Saturn

Latest about Saturn

Enceladus's icy water vapor jets are visible in this photo, taken by Cassini on Sept. 30, 2007.

Organic Compounds Found in Plumes of Saturn's Icy Moon Enceladus

By Chelsea Gohd published

Scientists have detected new types of organic compounds in the plumes that have been erupting from Enceladus.

Saturn
An artist's depiction of a fleet of Shapeshifter robots exploring Saturn's moon Titan.

Shapeshifter Robots Could Explore Volcanoes and Caves on Saturn's Moon Titan

By Elizabeth Howell published

New shapeshifting robots could give us access to distant worlds like never before — including the soupy moon Titan in Saturn's neighborhood.

Saturn
The rings of Saturn take center stage in this portrait by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 taken on June 20, 2019.

Saturn's Rings May Be Ancient After All

By Mike Wall published

The great Saturn ring debate is far from settled, a new study suggests.

Saturn
This artist's concept of a lake at the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan illustrates raised rims and rampartlike features such as those seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft around the moon's Winnipeg Lacus.

Some of Saturn Moon Titan's Methane Lakes May Sit in 'Explosion Craters'

By Mike Wall published

Some of the lakes on Saturn's huge moon Titan may sit in craters blasted out by liquid-nitrogen bombs, a new study suggests.

Saturn
Saturn's moon Titan is the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere.

What Secrets Does Titan Hold?

By Paul Sutter published

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is one of the most enigmatic bodies in the solar system.

Saturn
These are three mosaics based on data from Cassini's visual- and infrared-mapping spectrometer. They reflect observations taken during Titan flybys on Oct. 28, 2005 (left image), Dec. 26, 2005 (middle image) and Jan. 15, 2006 (right image).

Tiny 'Titans in a Jar' Could Help Scientists Unravel Habitability

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

To help determine whether Saturn's moon Titan could host life, researchers are modeling many possible realities of this icy world within tiny glass jars.

Saturn
During July, Saturn will be well-positioned for observing all night while it moves retrograde (westward) through the stars of northeastern Sagittarius. Look for it as a medium-bright, yellowish object in the lower part of the southeastern sky, sitting east of the Milky Way. The ringed planet will reach opposition on July 9. On that night, Saturn will rise at sunset. Its minimum separation from Earth of 9.03 AU (839 million miles or 1.4 billion km) will cause Saturn to shine at a maximum brightness of magnitude +0.05 and exhibit an apparent disk diameter of 18.4 arc-seconds. The rings, which will narrow every year until the spring of 2025, will subtend 42.86 arc-seconds across. On July 15, the bright, nearly full moon will be positioned 2.5 degrees to the right (west) of Saturn.

Saturn's Rings Shine Extra Bright This July: How to Catch Them

By Joe Rao published

July will be a great month to view the rings of Saturn — here's how.

Saturn
An illustration of the spacecraft Cassini diving through Enceladus' plume in 2015.

Saturn's Icy Moon Enceladus Is Likely the 'Perfect Age' to Harbor Life

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

It's probably around 1 billion years old.

Saturn
An artist's depiction of the Dragonfly spacecraft on the surface of Titan.

NASA Is Sending a Life-Hunting Drone to Saturn's Huge Moon Titan

By Mike Wall published

The next mission in NASA's New Frontiers line of medium-cost missions will be Dragonfly, a rotorcraft designed to ply the skies of the huge, hazy and potentially life-hosting Saturn moon Titan.

Saturn
A false-color view of Titan taken by the Cassini spacecraft. The orange spots may be solids left behind when a liquid hydrocarbon seas evaporated, similar to what happens in a bathtub when it is drained.

Mysterious 'Bathtub Rings' of Titan Replicated on Earth

By Rafi Letzter published

Something dark is spreading across the surface of Titan, and we may finally have some idea what it is.

Saturn
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