Saturn
Saturn is currently in the constellation of Capricornus. The current Right Ascension of Saturn is 20h 24m 41s and the Declination is -19° 42’ 30” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Saturn is 1.33 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Saturn [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- Saturn is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-West direction at an altitude of 9° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, Saturn is visible to the naked eye, easy and bright under dark skyes, might be more difficult from heavily light pollyuted areas.
- See also Saturn rise and set times.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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.
Additional information about Saturn available on TheSkyLive:
Saturn Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Saturn finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Saturn is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Saturn?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Saturn in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Saturn Distance from Earth
The distance of Saturn from Earth is currently 1,640,639,202 kilometers, equivalent to 10.966996 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 31 minutes and 12.5833 seconds to travel from Saturn and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Saturn from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Saturn from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Saturn to Earth
Between January 1900 and January 2100, the closest approach of Saturn to Earth happens on Mon Dec 21 1914 at a distance of 8.030440 Astronomical Units, or 1,201,336,738 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Saturn brightness
The current visual magnitude of Saturn is 1.33.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Saturn, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Saturn rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Saturn rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Saturn touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Saturn Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Saturn. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| 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 |
Saturn 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Saturn computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Saturn in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 14 | 20h 20m 56s | -19° 54’ 37” | 1.35 | 14.7” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 15 | 20h 21m 25s | -19° 53’ 03” | 1.35 | 14.7” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 16 | 20h 21m 55s | -19° 51’ 28” | 1.35 | 14.7” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 17 | 20h 22m 24s | -19° 49’ 53” | 1.34 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 18 | 20h 22m 54s | -19° 48’ 17” | 1.34 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 19 | 20h 23m 24s | -19° 46’ 42” | 1.34 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 20h 23m 53s | -19° 45’ 06” | 1.33 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 20h 24m 23s | -19° 43’ 31” | 1.33 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 20h 24m 51s | -19° 41’ 53” | 1.33 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 20h 25m 22s | -19° 40’ 17” | 1.32 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 20h 25m 50s | -19° 38’ 39” | 1.32 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 20h 26m 21s | -19° 37’ 02” | 1.32 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 20h 26m 51s | -19° 35’ 25” | 1.32 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 20h 27m 20s | -19° 33’ 47” | 1.33 | 14.6” | Capricornus |