How far is Saturn from the Sun?

Today, 10 October 2026, Saturn is 1,410,979,322 km from the Sun — 1.41 billion kilometres, or 9.432 astronomical units. That figure changes constantly: the orbit is an ellipse, so Saturn is closer at one end than the other.

What is Saturn's average distance from the Sun?

9.531 AU — 1.43 billion km. This is the semi-major axis, which is the number most references quote as "the" distance. It is an average, and Saturn is actually at it only twice per orbit.

What are Saturn's closest and furthest distances?

Closest (perihelion) 9.015 AU or 1.35 billion km, next on 28 November 2032. Furthest (aphelion) 10.05 AU or 1.50 billion km, next on 15 July 2047. The difference between them is 154,350,588 km.

How long does sunlight take to reach Saturn?

1.31 hours at today's distance. Light from the Sun reaches Earth in about 8 minutes 20 seconds, so sunlight arrives at Saturn roughly 9.4 times later than it reaches us.

Saturn

Saturn's distance from the Sun

Not the average everyone quotes — the figure for today, and the two extremes it swings between.

Right now

1.41 billion km

1,410,979,322 km · 9.432 AU · sunlight takes 1.31 hours to get there

Computed 10 October 2026 and rebuilt through the day.

Closest to the Sun: 9.015 AU; 1.35 bn km · 28 November 2032
Furthest from the Sun: 10.05 AU; 1.50 bn km · 15 July 2047
Average: 9.531 AU; the figure most tables give
Orbital speed: 9.75 km/s; right now, from the ephemeris

Why there is no single answer

Saturn’s orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus rather than at the centre, so the distance changes continuously. Over one orbit it swings by 154,350,588 km — aphelion is 1.11 times further out than perihelion. At 0.0541 the orbit is close to circular. The difference is real and measurable, but not something the eye would pick out of a drawing.

That is why the number in an encyclopedia and the number here differ. Theirs is the semi-major axis, an average over the whole orbit; this one is where Saturn is today. Both are correct, and they answer different questions.

Looking down on the plane of the ecliptic, traced from the ephemeris over one full orbit of 29.5 years. Jupiter’s orbit is the faint one, for scale. The Sun sits off the centre of the ellipse — that offset is the eccentricity, and it is why the two distances differ.

Where it is heading

Saturn reaches perihelion — its closest approach to the Sun — on 28 November 2032, in 6.1 years, at 9.015 AU. It is currently 40% of the way from perihelion to aphelion, moving at 9.75 km/s.

Distance from Earth is a different question again, and a more variable one: today it is 8.439 AU, and it changes as both planets move. Saturn right now carries that figure.

Common questions

How far is Saturn from the Sun?: Today, 10 October 2026, Saturn is 1,410,979,322 km from the Sun — 1.41 billion kilometres, or 9.432 astronomical units. That figure changes constantly: the orbit is an ellipse, so Saturn is closer at one end than the other.
What is Saturn's average distance from the Sun?: 9.531 AU — 1.43 billion km. This is the semi-major axis, which is the number most references quote as "the" distance. It is an average, and Saturn is actually at it only twice per orbit.
What are Saturn's closest and furthest distances?: Closest (perihelion) 9.015 AU or 1.35 billion km, next on 28 November 2032. Furthest (aphelion) 10.05 AU or 1.50 billion km, next on 15 July 2047. The difference between them is 154,350,588 km.
How long does sunlight take to reach Saturn?: 1.31 hours at today's distance. Light from the Sun reaches Earth in about 8 minutes 20 seconds, so sunlight arrives at Saturn roughly 9.4 times later than it reaches us.

Positions from VSOP87 via Astronomy Engine, accurate to within one arcminute. Perihelion and aphelion are found by search rather than taken from a table, which is why the dates are exact and why the extremes differ slightly from one orbit to the next — the other planets pull on this one. See Saturn’s orbit, Saturn right now, or watch it move in the live simulation.