Saturn is probably best known for the system of planetary rings that makes it visually unique.
The rings extend from 6,630 to 120,700 kilometers (4,120 to 75,000 mi) outward from Saturn's equator and average approximately 20 meters (66 ft) in thickness.
They are composed predominantly of water ice, with trace amounts of tholin impurities and a peppered coating of approximately 7% amorphous carbon.
The particles that make up the rings range in size from specks of dust up to 10 m. While the other gas giants also have ring systems, Saturn's is the largest and most visible.

There are two main hypotheses regarding the origin of the rings.
One hypothesis is that the rings are remnants of a destroyed moon of Saturn.
The second hypothesis is that the rings are left over from the original nebular material from which Saturn was formed.
Some ice in the E ring comes from the moon Enceladus's geysers.
The water abundance of the rings varies radially, with the outermost ring A being the most pure in ice water.
This abundance variance may be explained by meteor bombardment.

Beyond the main rings, at a distance of 12 million km from the planet is the sparse Phoebe ring.
 It is tilted at an angle of 27° to the other rings and, like Phoebe, orbits in retrograde fashion.

Some of the moons of Saturn, including Pandora and Prometheus, act as shepherd moons to confine the rings and prevent them from spreading out.
Pan and Atlas cause weak, linear density waves in Saturn's rings that have yielded more reliable calculations of their masses.
Saturn is probably best known for the system of planetary rings that makes it visually unique. The rings extend from 6,630 to 120,700 kilometers (4,120 to 75,000 mi) outward from Saturn's equator and average approximately 20 meters (66 ft) in thickness. They are composed predominantly of water ice, with trace amounts of tholin impurities and a peppered coating of approximately 7% amorphous carbon. The particles that make up the rings range in size from specks of dust up to 10 m. While the other gas giants also have ring systems, Saturn's is the largest and most visible.
There are two main hypotheses regarding the origin of the rings. One hypothesis is that the rings are remnants of a destroyed moon of Saturn. The second hypothesis is that the rings are left over from the original nebular material from which Saturn was formed. Some ice in the E ring comes from the moon Enceladus's geysers. The water abundance of the rings varies radially, with the outermost ring A being the most pure in ice water. This abundance variance may be explained by meteor bombardment.
Beyond the main rings, at a distance of 12 million km from the planet is the sparse Phoebe ring.  It is tilted at an angle of 27° to the other rings and, like Phoebe, orbits in retrograde fashion.
Some of the moons of Saturn, including Pandora and Prometheus, act as shepherd moons to confine the rings and prevent them from spreading out. Pan and Atlas cause weak, linear density waves in Saturn's rings that have yielded more reliable calculations of their masses.
Saturn