The Rings of Saturn
Saturn is well known for its beautiful array of rings, made from rock and chunks of ice. The rings of Saturn have said to be pieces of old moons, comets and asteroids, before being destroyed by the strong gravitational pull of Saturn’s atmosphere.
Galileo Galilei was the first to see Saturn's rings in 1610, although from his telescope they resembled handles or arms. In 1655, Christian Huygens became the first person to suggest that Saturn was surrounded by a thin, flat ring.
As a result of the brightness and purity of the water ice in Saturn's rings, many astronomers and scientists believe the rings of Saturn are much younger than Saturn itself. The largest ring, spans up to 7,000 times the diameter of the planet, the smallest ring span being the size of a grain of sugar.
Saturn looks as though it has 7 rings, each named after a letter of the alphabet. The first ring discovered is called the 'A Ring' but it isn't the closest or farthest ring away from Saturn.