Saturn has been known since prehistoric times as it is visible to the naked eye. However, its discovery with the telescope unfolded later:
- The first telescopic observation of Saturn was made by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in July 1610. Using his telescope, he saw what appeared to be a triple planet, not realizing what he was actually seeing were Saturn's rings. He thought the planet had "handles" or "ears," but he was not able to identify the rings properly at that time.
- The mystery of the rings was resolved in 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who, with a more powerful telescope, correctly deduced that Saturn was surrounded by a thin, flat ring system. He also discovered Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Thus, Saturn itself was known since ancient times, but it was first observed telescopically by Galileo in 1610, and its rings were discovered by Huygens in 1655.
