Saturn for Kids
Planet 6 from the Sun
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Its day lasts 10.7 hours. Its year lasts 29.4 Earth years. That is from NASA's planetary fact sheet, checked 29 October 2026. A scale there reads 0.916 times as much as on Earth. Read about it at three levels: Little, Middle and Big, and make your own Space Card.
Saturn has big, bright rings made of ice and rock. It is a gas planet, so it is very light for its size.
Saturn's rings are mostly chunks of ice, from tiny grains to pieces as big as a house. Saturn is so light for its size that it would float in a giant bathtub. One trip round the Sun takes about 29 Earth years.
Saturn is less dense than water, because it is mostly hydrogen and helium. The rings are wide, over a hundred thousand kilometers across, but very thin, in places only about ten meters thick. NASA counts 274 moons so far.
Saturn would float in water, if you could find a bathtub big enough.
Saturn in numbers
| Across | 120,536 km |
|---|---|
| From the Sun | 1432 million km |
| A day | 10.7 hours |
| A year | 29.4 Earth years |
| Pull of gravity | 0.916 times Earth's |
| Average temperature | -140 °C |
| Moons | 274 |
Source: NASA planetary fact sheet, checked 29 October 2026.
How big is Saturn?
Saturn is 120,536 kilometers across, 9.4 Earths wide. Saturn is 1.43 billion kilometers from the Sun, on average.
How hot or cold is Saturn?
Saturn averages -140 degrees Celsius, far colder than any freezer on Earth.
Does Saturn have moons?
Saturn has 274 moons by NASA's count, and the number can grow as telescopes find more.
Can I see Saturn tonight?
Yes: bright, east after dark, 3 fists above the ground. Sky Tonight gives your own times from a ZIP.
How much would I weigh on Saturn?
A child who weighs 80 pounds on Earth would read 73 pounds on Saturn. That is a game number: it only shows how hard Saturn pulls compared with Earth. Make your own Space Card to guess first and see all eleven worlds.