DELTA-V // PLANETARY FIX
Saturn is 1,291 million km away
That is 8.63 astronomical units, and light from it takes 71.8 minutes to reach you. Computed for this moment rather than quoted as an average — Saturn’s distance from Earth changes constantly, and an average is wrong on almost every day of the year.
COMPUTED 2026-08-30 21:50:14Z · RECOMPUTED EVERY 15 MINUTES
Right now
- DISTANCE
- 8.63 AU
- 1,291 million km
- LIGHT TIME
- 71.8 min
- one way
- BRIGHTNESS
- +0.7
- naked eye
- APPARENT SIZE
- 19.3″
- 93× smaller than the Moon
- LIT
- 100%
- of the disc
- FROM THE SUN
- 144°
- angular separation
- IN THE SKY
- morning
- rises before the Sun
- SUN DISTANCE
- 9.47 AU
- its own orbit
What Saturn is actually like
Less dense than water, and the only planet whose rings you can see in a cheap telescope.
- TEMPERATURE
- -140 °CMean, at the 1-bar level — there is no surface
- PRESSURE
- 1 barQuoted at the 1-bar level; pressure rises without limit below it
- WINDS
- 1,800 km/hFastest sustained winds recorded
- ONE DAY
- 10.7 hoursSunrise to sunrise
- ATMOSPHERE
- 96% hydrogen, 3% helium
PUBLISHED REFERENCE VALUES FROM NASA FACT SHEETS · NOT LIVE READINGS · NO SPACECRAFT REPORTS LIVE WEATHER FROM SATURN
Common questions
How far away is Saturn right now?
Saturn is 1291 million kilometres from Earth at the moment — 8.63 astronomical units, or 72 light-minutes. That figure changes constantly as both planets move: this page recomputes it rather than quoting an average, because an average is wrong on almost every day of the year.
Can I see Saturn tonight?
Yes, with the naked eye. Saturn is at magnitude +0.7 and sits 144 degrees from the Sun, making it a morning object that rises before it. Look for the point of light that does not twinkle.
How long does light take to reach us from Saturn?
71.8 minutes at the moment. You are always seeing Saturn as it was that long ago, and the delay changes as the distance does — it is a direct consequence of the 1291 million kilometres between us.
How hot is Saturn?
-140°C on average, measured at the 1-bar level — there is no surface. Quoted at the 1-bar level; pressure rises without limit below it. This is a published reference value rather than a live reading — no spacecraft currently reports live weather from Saturn, and nothing on this page pretends otherwise.
How big does Saturn look from Earth?
19.3 arcseconds across right now. For scale, the full Moon is about 1,800 arcseconds — so Saturn is roughly 93 times smaller than the Moon in apparent size, which is why it looks like a point of light without a telescope.