1960 - J. Botham observes a white spot on Saturn, and a 30 year cycle for the white spot appearances has been established. Using the Pic du Midi Observatory, Dollfus is able to establish the actual edge-on brightness of the rings, and estimates the thickness of the rings at only 2.4 km. 1967 - Walter Feibelman discovers the E Ring from the Allegheny Observatory images taken the year before. 1973 - Pioneer 11 is launched to encounter Saturn in 1979. 1977 - Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are launched to encounter Saturn in 1980 and 1981.
Astronomers discover rings around Uranus, making Saturn no longer the only planet with rings.
1978 - H. Reitsema establishes the existence of the Encke Division with his observations of Iapetus as it was eclipsed by the rings. Peter Goldreich and Scott Tremaine propose that density waves are created in Saturn's rings due to resonance of ring particles with moons. 1979 - Pioneer 11 flybys Saturn and discovers the F Ring, and confirms the E Ring. Peter Goldreich and Scott Tremaine propose that shepherd moons could contain a narrow ring. Three new Saturn moons are discovered during the 1979-1980 ring plane crossing.