Saturn's rings. Computer artwork of the rings of Saturn around the planet (red). Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is encircled by a set of rings consisting of small chunks of ice and dust. The rings orbit in well-defined bands, separated by empty space. It is thought that the rings are the remains of a moon which was shattered by the impact of a large icy body such as a comet. The diameter of the complete ring system is around 400,000 kilometres. Saturn is a gas giant planet with no true surface. It lies around 1500 million kilometres from the Sun.