Galileo first sees Saturn's rings on July 30, 1610

On July 30, 1610, Galileo Galilei became the first to observe Saturn's rings using a telescope, though he initially mistook them for large moons or planetary 'love handles.' It wasn't until 1659 that Christiaan Huygens correctly identified them as rings. This discovery revolutionized astronomy, revealing that planets could have rings and paving the way for later findings of ring systems around Jupiter and Uranus.