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Opposition
Saturn at Opposition
Saturn lies opposite the Sun in our sky — closest to Earth, brightest, and visible all night in Cetus.
Your local time
4 Oct 2026, 17:42
Universal time
4 Oct 2026, 12:12 UTC
Countdown
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Partially visible from New Delhi, IndiaNaked EyeVisible worldwide where sky conditions allow
At opposition Saturn is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. It rises at sunset, is highest around local midnight and sets at sunrise. This is also close to its minimum distance from Earth, so the planet appears at its largest and brightest for the year — the best time to observe it with a telescope.
Observation details
- Visibility
- Partially visible
- Best viewing time
- 5 Oct 2026, 00:12
- Direction to look
- E · azimuth 85°
- Altitude at peak
- -5.3°
- Equipment
- Naked Eye
- Distance from Earth
- 8.434 AU
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.2
- Constellation
- Cetus
The event's peak happens below your horizon, but the same part of the sky reaches 63° later in the night.
New Delhi, India
28.6139°, 77.2090° · default location
Photography & observing tips
- •Observe when the planet is highest, near local midnight, to look through the least atmosphere.
- •Let a telescope cool to ambient temperature for 30 minutes before high-magnification viewing.
- •Planetary imaging works best by recording short video and stacking the sharpest frames.
Other opposition events
The nearest occurrences before and after this one.