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How far is Saturn from Earth right now?
Saturn is 1,261,860,379 km from Earth right now, getting closer at 1.09 km/s.
Saturn from Earth, right now
Centre to centre. Worked out in your browser from JPL's orbital elements, the same maths that moves the planets in the 3D viewer, and updated ten times a second.
Where Earth and Saturn are today
Why the distance keeps changing
Saturn moves slowly, taking 29 years per orbit, so most of the change comes from Earth swinging around the Sun. We are closest at opposition, a little over a year apart each time, and farthest when Saturn is behind the Sun.
Even at its closest, Saturn's light takes over an hour to reach us.
Saturn ranges from about 1.20 billion km to about 1.66 billion km from Earth.
Questions
How far is Saturn from Earth right now?
On 2 October 2026, Saturn was 1.26 billion km from Earth (784,083,688 miles, 8.4350 AU), and getting closer at 1.09 km/s. The figure at the top of this page is worked out live in your browser, so it is current whenever you read it.
When is Saturn next closest to Earth?
Saturn next comes closest to Earth on 18 October 2027, at about 1.25 billion km. Close approaches like this, at opposition, come round about every 378 days.
How long does light take to travel from Saturn to Earth?
Right now light from Saturn takes 1 h 10 min to reach us, so we see Saturn as it was that long ago. Radio signals to a spacecraft there take the same time.
What is the closest and farthest Saturn gets from Earth?
Saturn can come as close as about 1.20 billion km and be as far as about 1.66 billion km, worked out from the sizes and shapes of the two orbits.
