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Encircled by large rings and more than 18 moons, Saturn is a unique planet that has been a mystery to us Earthlings for hundreds of years. Known as the “Jewel of the Solar System,” the planet was formed over four billion years ago and is the second largest planet in our solar system, and the sixth planet from the sun.

Composed of mostly hydrogen and helium gases, Saturn is a low-density planet and could float in a bathtub, if there were one large enough! Its rings are hundreds of miles wide, and are formed of rock, dust and ice particles that range in size from sand particles to the size of large houses.

To better understand the nature of Saturn and all its unique features, the Cassini-Huygen Mission was launched into space October 15, 1997. The Cassini spacecraft is 22 feet high, 13 feet wide and weighs more than 6 tons. It is equipped with 18 scientific instruments and cameras that will send images and data back to earth to be studied by 250 scientists from 17 nations.

Traveling 2.2 billion miles over a seven-year period, Cassini arrived at Saturn July 1, 2004. Cassini will complete 74 orbits around the “ringed planet” and gather information on the planet’s magnetic field, solar winds, famous rings and many moons that we have never had such close access to before.

Early next year the Huygen Probe will be released from Cassini to explore Saturn’s largest moon “Titan” to discover if the moon has a liquid or solid composition. Also of great importance is to further understand Saturn’s formation, evolution and how its rings interact with its moons.

By the year 2007, we should have a deeper understanding of Saturn and it’s many individual and beautiful features.