When is the Saturn opposition of 2026?

Saturn reaches opposition on October 5, 2026 (UTC). It rises at sunset and stays visible all night.

How bright will Saturn be?

Around opposition Saturn peaks at magnitude 0.2, with its disc 19.7 arcseconds across. That is its biggest and brightest of the apparition.

How far away is Saturn at opposition?

At closest approach (October 5, 2026) Saturn is 8.434 AU from Earth, about 1262 million km.

What is an opposition?

The moment Earth passes directly between an outer planet and the Sun. The planet is then closest, brightest, fully sunlit, and visible from sunset to sunrise.

Space Time

Saturn Opposition 2026

On October 5, 2026, Saturn reaches opposition at magnitude 0.2. It rises at sunset, stands highest around midnight, and sets at dawn. The rings and Titan show in any small telescope.

–days

–hours

–min

–sec

0.2peak magnitude

8.43 AUclosest approach (1262M km)

19.7″disc at its biggest

Cetconstellation

▶ See Saturn at opposition in 3D Free · real ephemerides · no install

What's special about this one

Saturn reaches opposition, its closest and brightest moment of the year, up from dusk to dawn. This is prime ring season too: the rings are emerging from their 2025 edge-on alignment and tilt open a little more each month. For a few nights around opposition they also brighten noticeably (the Seeliger effect) as sunlight reflects straight back at Earth.

Brightness across the apparition

Visual magnitude (lower = brighter), computed daily. The gold dot marks the peak.

Apparent size

Equatorial disc diameter in arcseconds. Telescope views are best in the weeks around the peak.

Month by month

Month	Magnitude	Disc	Distance	Constellation
Jun 2026	0.7	16.8″	9.90 AU	Psc
Jul 2026	0.7	17.5″	9.49 AU	Psc
Aug 2026	0.5	18.5″	8.99 AU	Psc
Sep 2026	0.3	19.3″	8.60 AU	Psc
Oct 2026	0.2	19.7″	8.44 AU	Cet
Nov 2026	0.4	19.4″	8.55 AU	Cet
Dec 2026	0.6	18.7″	8.90 AU	Cet
Jan 2027	0.7	17.7″	9.40 AU	Cet
Feb 2027	0.8	16.8″	9.88 AU	Cet

Jupiter 2027 → Mars 2027 → All oppositions

Watch it happen

Space Time is a free in-browser planetarium. Jump to opposition night and watch Saturn at its real position and brightness, or generate the full ephemeris table yourself and export it as CSV. Open the simulation.