SATURN Sixth planet from the Sun Mean distance from Sun: 9.54 AU = 1,427,000,000 KM Diameter: 120,000 KM Mass: 95.15 Earths Density: 0.7 grams / cubic centimeter Surface temperature: -274 F Orbital period: 29 years, 168 days Saturn is perhaps the best known astronomical object by picture. Its beauty in even small telescopes is breathtaking, and larger scopes reveal details in the delicate ring structure and colored bands in the outer layers of the atmosphere. The rings consist of billions of particles (probably water and methane ice) ranging from a few centimeters to a few meters in diameter. There are three major ring systems, separated by the Cassini division (outer) and the Encke division (inner).