we are poised underneath saturn's ring plane, looking towards the sun. we are seeing the unilluminated face of the rings. because of the variation in the opacity of the rings, the uniluminated side appears somewhat different from the sunlit side. saturn's rings. artwork of the unilluminated side of saturn's rings, which are composed mainly of ice and dust particles. saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest in the solar system. it is a gas giant, consisting mostly of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements.