Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest planet in the Solar System after Jupiter. It has a diameter of 116,460 kilometers and a mass of 5.68 x 10^26 kilograms, making it approximately 95 times more massive than Earth. Saturn is a gas giant planet with a composition similar to Jupiter, primarily composed of hydrogen and helium with trace amounts of other gases. The planet is famous for its extensive ring system, consisting of numerous narrow, bright rings composed of ice particles, rock debris, and dust. Saturn has a day length of 10.7 hours and an orbital period of 29.4 Earth years. The planet has 82 known moons, with the largest being Titan, a moon with a thick atmosphere and the only known moon with stable liquid on its surface. The planet has been explored by multiple spacecraft, including NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission, which spent 13 years in orbit around Saturn and its moons.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of Saturn in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Saturn
Saturn is in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of
Don't Miss
Don't miss the transit of Titan's shadow on the disc of Saturn on July 18, 2025. As shown in the animation below (created with Stellarium), the transit will start at 7:00 UTC time and will end at 12:10 UTC and it will be visible from Eastern, Central and South America. Check out this interactive star map to determine the position of Saturn in the sky on that date and time.
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of Saturn in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of Saturn against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Rings and Moons
The following image shows the current position of Saturn's major moons (Titan, Dione, Mimas, Rhea, Tethys, and Enceladus) and the tilt of its rings. For more advanced features, see the page dedicated to the system of Saturn.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of Saturn from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Saturn from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of Saturn from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of Saturn from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1600 and December 30, 2499, the closest approach of Saturn to Earth happened on Wednesday 11 December 1619 at a distance of 8.012797 Astronomical Units, or 1,198,697,442 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of Saturn, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of Saturn.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 116464 km | 9.1402 |
| Mass | 568.319 x 1024 kg | 95.1609 |
| Density | 0.6871 gr/cm3 | 0.1246 |
| Escape Velocity | 36.09 km/s | 3.2252 |
| Sideral Rotation | 10.6562 hours | 0.4452 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -8.88 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.47 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Saturn computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 00h 10m 40s | -01° 19’ 29” | 0.91 | 17.4” | Pisces |
| Jul 11 2025 | 00h 10m 41s | -01° 19’ 38” | 0.91 | 17.4” | Pisces |
| Jul 12 2025 | 00h 10m 42s | -01° 19’ 49” | 0.90 | 17.4” | Pisces |
| Jul 13 2025 | 00h 10m 43s | -01° 20’ 03” | 0.90 | 17.5” | Pisces |
| Jul 14 2025 | 00h 10m 43s | -01° 20’ 19” | 0.89 | 17.5” | Pisces |
| Jul 15 2025 | 00h 10m 43s | -01° 20’ 37” | 0.89 | 17.5” | Pisces |
| Jul 16 2025 | 00h 10m 43s | -01° 20’ 58” | 0.88 | 17.6” | Pisces |
| Jul 17 2025 | 00h 10m 42s | -01° 21’ 21” | 0.88 | 17.6” | Pisces |
| Jul 18 2025 | 00h 10m 41s | -01° 21’ 46” | 0.87 | 17.6” | Pisces |
| Jul 19 2025 | 00h 10m 39s | -01° 22’ 14” | 0.87 | 17.6” | Pisces |
| Jul 20 2025 | 00h 10m 37s | -01° 22’ 44” | 0.86 | 17.7” | Pisces |
| Jul 21 2025 | 00h 10m 35s | -01° 23’ 17” | 0.86 | 17.7” | Pisces |
| Jul 22 2025 | 00h 10m 32s | -01° 23’ 52” | 0.85 | 17.7” | Pisces |
| Jul 23 2025 | 00h 10m 29s | -01° 24’ 29” | 0.85 | 17.8” | Pisces |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Saturn: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Saturn's Rings and Moons: Rings orientation and satellites position in real time or at any date and time.
- Where is Saturn?: Key information on where to find Saturn in the sky.
- Distance of Saturn from Earth: Find out how far Saturn is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Saturn?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of Saturn from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of Saturn's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of Saturn's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Saturn's computed ephemeris.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of Saturn.