Here's what happened:
* Galileo observed Saturn in 1610 using his newly invented telescope.
* He saw what appeared to be "ears" or "handles" on either side of the planet. He described it as "having three stars, one of which is much larger than the other two, and they are placed in a straight line with the larger one in the middle."
* He was unable to make sense of these "ears". He couldn't figure out what he was observing.
It wasn't until 1655 that Christiaan Huygens, using a more powerful telescope, figured out that the "ears" were actually a ring encircling Saturn.
