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Saturn: The Ringed Planet and the Teacher of Time

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Saturn is 1.26 billion km (784.1 million miles) from Earth. It is 11° along the ecliptic, in the sign of Aries, moving backward (retrograde). It moves into Taurus on .

Where Saturn is in space

  • 1.26 billion km(784.1 million miles) from EarthIts light takes 1 h 10 min to reach us
  • 1.41 billion km(876.8 million miles) from the SunSunlight takes 1 h 18 min to get there
  • 11.07° along the ecliptic 2.71° south of it Ecliptic longitude and latitude, from 0° at the March equinox
  • RA 0h 44m · Dec +1.9° right ascension and declinationThe sky coordinates a telescope uses

At 12:00 PM UTC today, as seen from Earth's center.

Where Saturn is in the zodiac

  • 11°04′ Ariestoday at 12:00 PM UTC 11°04′ into Aries's 30°
  • In Aries since
  • Moves into Taurus After 789 days in Aries
  • Moving backward (retrograde) 0.08° a day along the ecliptic
  1. Pre-shadow beginsNow
  2. Retrograde beginsNow 14°45′ Aries
  3. Retrograde endsNow 7°56′ Aries
  4. Post-shadow endsComplete

All transits →

Saturn retrograde

Retrograde means Saturn appears to move backward along the ecliptic for a while. Nothing reverses: Earth moves faster on its smaller orbit, and as it overtakes Saturn, our changing angle makes Saturn seem to slide back against the stars, the way a slower car seems to move backward as you pass it. Saturn goes retrograde once a year, for about four and a half months.

Retrograde in 2026

  • – Now From 14°45′ Aries back to 7°56′ Aries

What is Saturn?

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest: a gas giant about 120,500 km across, 9.4 times Earth’s width, famous for its bright rings of ice and rock, which span about 270,000 km but are mostly only tens of meters thick. It is so light for its size that it would float in water. It orbits the Sun at an average of 1.43 billion km (9.5 au) and goes around in 29.5 years. It was the farthest planet known before the telescope.

Where Saturn is in the sky

The ecliptic is the path the Sun appears to follow across our sky over a year, the plane of Earth’s orbit seen from Earth. Positions along it are measured in degrees, from 0° at the March equinox to 360°. The zodiac divides it into twelve equal 30° parts named after signs: Aries covers 0° to 30°, Taurus 30° to 60°, and so on. The signs are counted from the equinox, not from the star patterns they were named after; those constellations now sit about 24° further along, because Earth’s axis slowly wobbles (precession).

Saturn moves along the ecliptic at up to about 0.13° a day and spends about two and a half years in each sign, going around the zodiac in about 29.5 years.

Saturn in astrology

In astrology Saturn stands for structure, discipline, responsibility, limits and time: the lessons that take effort. It rules Capricorn, and in traditional astrology also Aquarius. Its return to the place it held at your birth, about every 29.5 years, is the well-known Saturn return.

Saturn and your sign

Astrology also reads the twelve signs as twelve houses, each one an area of life, counted from your own sign: your sign is your 1st house, the next sign your 2nd, and so on around the zodiac. So Saturn, now in Aries, falls in a different house for every sign. For example, Aries is the 1st house for Aries, the house of self and fresh starts. Find your sign below, and read your daily horoscope for how the day plays out.

Frequently asked questions

What are Saturn's rings made of?
Countless pieces of water ice and rock, from dust grains to boulders, orbiting in a thin, wide disk.
How long is Saturn in each sign?
About two and a half years; it goes around the zodiac in about 29.5 years.
How often does Saturn go retrograde?
Every year, for about four and a half months.
What is a Saturn return?
Saturn coming back to the place it held when you were born, around ages 29, 58 and 87; astrology reads it as a time of reckoning and growing up.