On November 12, 1980, Voyager I, a NASA space probe launched on September 5, 1977, made its closest approach to Saturn and captured the first up-close images of Saturn's rings. Voyager I was launched with the purpose of visiting Jupiter and Saturn and giving us a better look at the largest planets in our solar system (and their moons). Saturn's rings are not visible from Earth with the naked eye and were first seen through a telescope by Galileo Galilei, in 1610, almost 370 years before the Voyager I.
To this day, Voyager 1 continues to send information back to Earth and, 30 years after its closest approach to Saturn, the space probe is located a mere 10.712 billion miles, only .2% of a single lightyear, from the sun.
For more information on Saturn's majestic, particle-based rings, pick up a copy of Astronomy For Beginners.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXjw6-7BZxUriQfKTepeDuexStzmw-3ggybwzk1SKQS3dslyR1rDRU_jLtSPBERaO3eh6xRA-iAqX1Bp0B49sAQYxWU8JfejIqP6tuFXWAXZJQD7XwhzNJkLHmRDTOXDqjp1UEilCv-M/s400/saturn_family.jpg)
A collage of images of Saturn and its satellites taken by Voyage I on November 12, 1980
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