# How far away is Saturn right now?

> Saturn's distance from Earth, live. Rings wide but thin, a planet lighter than water, the most known moons, and Titan with its lakes and seas.

HTML: https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets/saturn

Numbers as of 2026-10-31 03:42 UTC. Live ones keep changing on the HTML page.

Right now Saturn is about 1.3 billion kilometres from Earth, and the gap changes every second. A radio message, moving at the speed of light, needs 1.2 hours to cross it.

Saturn is the farthest planet that people found with their eyes alone, long before telescopes. Its distance from us swings between 1.2 billion and 1.7 billion kilometres. The next close approach is on 18 October 2027.

- Time until Saturn's next close approach to Earth: 351 d 21 h 15 m 25 s
- Length of one turn of Saturn (sidereal day): 10 h 39 m 22 s
- Temperature of Saturn at the 1 bar level: -139 °C
- Number of known moons of Saturn: 293

## The ringed planet

What is Saturn?

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, and the second largest. Like Jupiter, it is a gas giant, made mostly of hydrogen and helium. It has no solid ground.

It is about 9.4 times as wide as Earth, and about 844 Earths would fit inside it. Yet its mass is only about 95 times Earth's.

So Saturn is light for its size. It is the only planet whose average density is lower than water's. NASA puts it this way: Saturn could float in a bathtub, if there were one big enough.

People have watched Saturn since ancient times. The Romans named it after their god of farming and wealth, the father of Jupiter.

## Why the distance keeps changing

The next close approach

Earth and Saturn both circle the Sun, like runners on a track. Saturn has a far outer lane and a slow pace. Earth moves about 3.1 times as fast, and Saturn needs about 29 Earth years for one lap. Since you opened this page, Saturn has travelled [counts up live on the page] kilometres along its path.

So Earth keeps overtaking Saturn, about once every 1.04 years. Then the two planets are on the same side of the Sun, as close as they get. Saturn stands opposite the Sun in our sky, rising at sunset and up all night. Astronomers call this opposition.

About half a year later, Saturn lies beyond the Sun. At most it can be 1.7 billion kilometres away.

Saturn's orbit is slightly oval too, so some meetings are closer than others. The nearest come when Earth catches up near Saturn's closest point to the Sun. The clock on this page counts down to the next close approach, on 18 October 2027.

## A hello that takes more than an hour

Right now

Radio waves are a kind of light, and nothing travels faster. Even so, a message to Saturn takes a long time. At today's distance it needs 1.2 hours to arrive, and the reply needs as long again.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft worked across that gap for thirteen years. It reached Saturn in 2004, the first spacecraft to orbit it. It carried Europe's Huygens probe, which descended to the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 2005.

On 15 September 2017, with its fuel running low, Cassini dived into Saturn on purpose, collecting science until the end. The team chose this so it could never crash into a moon that might hold life. When its last signal reached Earth, Cassini was already gone.

## Rings wide but thin

The main rings

Other giant planets have rings too, but none like these. They are made of countless pieces of ice and rock. Most are small grains or chunks the size of a house; a few are as big as mountains.

From edge to edge, the main rings span about 270,000 kilometres. About 21 Earths could sit side by side across them. Yet in most places they are only about 10 metres thick. That makes them about 27 million times as wide as they are thick.

Each ring circles Saturn at its own speed. Scientists think the rings are pieces of comets, asteroids or shattered moons, torn apart by Saturn's gravity before they could reach the planet. Beyond the bright main rings lie fainter ones, reaching much farther out.

## Cold, windy and quick to spin

Temperature at the 1 bar level

Saturn has no surface either. So its temperature is measured where the air presses as hard as ours does at sea level, the 1 bar level. There it is -139 °C, against 15 °C on Earth. Saturn is about 9.5 times as far from the Sun as we are.

The winds are fierce. Near the equator they blow at up to about 400 metres per second, about 1.6 times as fast as an airliner. Around the north pole, a jet stream runs in a six-sided ring, a hexagon wider than Earth.

Saturn spins fast: one turn takes 10 h 39 m 22 s. Its year is long, about 24,000 of its own days. And Saturn is tilted much as Earth is, so it has seasons, each lasting several of our years.

## The most moons

Moons known

Saturn has 293 known moons, as of October 2026, far more than any other planet. More are waiting to be confirmed.

The largest is Titan, bigger than the planet Mercury. It is the only moon with a thick atmosphere. It is also the only world besides Earth known to have liquid on its surface. It has rain, rivers, lakes and seas, made not of water but of methane and ethane.

Enceladus is small and bright white. From cracks near its south pole, jets of water vapour and ice spray into space. They come from an ocean under the ice, so a spacecraft can fly through them and taste it. Cassini did.

NASA is building a flying robot, Dragonfly, to explore Titan. As of October 2026 it is due to launch no earlier than July 2028 and to arrive in late 2034.

## FAQ

### How far away is Saturn right now?

About 1.3 billion kilometres, from the centre of Earth to the centre of Saturn. The number on this page is live. Over a year or so it swings between 1.2 billion and 1.7 billion kilometres.

### When is Saturn closest to Earth next?

On 18 October 2027. Within hours of then, Saturn is at opposition: opposite the Sun in our sky, rising at sunset and up all night. It happens about once every 1.04 years.

### Could Saturn really float on water?

In a way. Saturn's average density is lower than water's, the only planet's that is. So NASA says it could float in a bathtub, if one were ever big enough. No such bathtub could exist, and Saturn has no solid surface to float on.

### How many moons does Saturn have?

293, as officially recognised in October 2026, more than any other planet. The largest, Titan, is bigger than the planet Mercury.

### How long does it take Saturn to orbit the Sun?

A year on Saturn, one trip round the Sun, lasts about 29 Earth years. It holds about 24,000 of Saturn's days.

### How long is a day on Saturn?

One turn takes 10 h 39 m 22 s, the second shortest day after Jupiter's. Saturn has no ground, so its day is counted as one turn of the planet.

## Related

- [Jupiter](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets/jupiter.md)
- [Planets](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/planets.md)
- [Spacecraft](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/spacecraft.md)

Saturn shines in our night sky as a steady, pale yellow light, with its rings too small to see by eye. The next time you find it, who would you most like to tell about them?

## Sources

- Average surface temperature of Earth (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html)
- Average time between Saturn's close approaches to Earth (synodic period) (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Earth's average distance from the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html)
- Earth's average distance from the Sun in kilometres (Measured): [NASA: Earth: Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/)
- Earth's diameter at the equator (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html)
- Earth's speed around the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html)
- Equatorial diameter of Saturn (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Largest possible distance between Earth and Saturn (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Length of a year on Saturn (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Length of one turn of Saturn (sidereal day) (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Mass of Saturn (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Mass of the Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html)
- Number of known moons of Saturn (Measured): [NASA: Moons: Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moons/facts/)
- Saturn's average distance from the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Saturn's average speed around the Sun (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Saturn's distance from Earth (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Smallest possible distance between Earth and Saturn (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Speed of light in a vacuum (Measured): [BIPM: SI defining constants](https://www.bipm.org/en/measurement-units/si-defining-constants)
- Temperature of Saturn at the 1 bar level (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html)
- Time until Saturn's next close approach to Earth (Measured): [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ): ほしぞら情報 2027年10月](https://www.nao.ac.jp/astro/sky/2027/10.html)
- Top wind speed in Saturn's cloud bands near the equator (Estimated): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturn Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html); [NASA Science: Saturn Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/facts/)
- Typical cruising speed of a long-haul airliner (Estimated): [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: B789 (Boeing 787-9)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=B789); [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: A388 (Airbus A380-800)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=A388)
- Typical thickness of Saturn's main rings (Estimated): [NASA Science: Saturn Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/facts/); [NASA NSSDCA: Saturnian Rings Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/satringfact.html)
- Width of Saturn's main rings, from outer edge to outer edge (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Saturnian Rings Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/satringfact.html)