The upper chart shows the path of Saturn across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +8.5 are shown. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction.
The lower chart shows how the appearance of Saturn changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds), the geocentric distance (in au) and the opening angle of the rings. Note that the tilt of Saturn's rings varies subtly throughout the year.
Saturn is justifiably famous for its beautiful ring system but those rings will vanish from view in March when Earth observes a ring-plane crossing, an event which occurs twice in a Saturnian year. The heliocentric ring-plane crossing, which occurs when Saturn reaches an equinox, takes place in May. The south face of the ring system will be on view for the next 15 years.
Saturn is visible in the evening sky in the constellation of Aquarius at the beginning of 2025, setting nearer and nearer to sunset until it vanishes in late February, undergoing solar conjunction in early March. The geocentric ring-plane crossing takes place soon after and may not be visible in the morning sky. Saturn moves into Pisces in April and rises before midnight from June or July, depending on the observer's latitude. Opposition occurs in September, with retrograde motion returning the planet to Aquarius soon after. Saturn is visible in the evening through the rest of the year. The Moon occults Saturn twice, in January and February, and is less than a degree away from fourth-magnitude φ Aquarii shortly after its second lunar occultation. Mercury is less than 2° away in late February, and Saturn and Neptune perform the first two steps of a triple conjunction in right ascension in June and August.
All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest hour unless otherwise indicated. Positions are geocentric apparent places and referred to the true equator and equinox of date.
| January | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00:00 | Aquarius |
| 00:00 | maximum declination south: −7° 55′ 0″ | |
| 00:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude south: −1.98° | |
| 00:00 | maximum ring opening: 4.26° | |
| 4 | 16:57 | 0.6° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon: occultation |
| 17:24 | 0.7° (declination) south of Moon: occultation | |
| 19 | 01:00 | 2.2° (ecliptic latitude) south of Venus |
| 20 | 05:00 | 2.5° (declination) south of Venus |
| February | ||
| 1 | 04:10 | 1.0° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon: occultation |
| 04:53 | 1.1° (declination) south of Moon: occultation | |
| 17:00 | 0.9° south of the fourth-magnitude star φ Aquarii | |
| 25 | 12:00 | 1.4° (ecliptic latitude) south of Mercury |
| 21:00 | 1.7° (declination) south of Mercury | |
| 28 | 19:00 | 1.3° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 20:00 | 1.5° (declination) south of Moon | |
| March | ||
| 12 | 07:00 | maximum distance from Earth: 10.6022 au |
| 10:30 | conjunction | |
| 23 | 19:29 | geocentric ring plane crossing: 0.00° opening (see explanation below) |
| 28 | 11:00 | 1.6° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 12:00 | 1.8° (declination) south of Moon | |
| 30 | 06:00 | 10.3° (declination) south of Venus |
| April | ||
| 7 | 11:00 | 7.9° (ecliptic latitude) south of Venus |
| 19 | 04:00 | Aquarius → Pisces |
| 25 | 00:00 | 4.1° (ecliptic latitude) south of Venus |
| 03:00 | 2.0° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon | |
| 04:00 | 2.3° (declination) south of Moon | |
| 29 | 02:00 | 3.7° (declination) south of Venus |
| May | ||
| 6 | 18:44 | heliocentric ring plane crossing: −2.22° opening (see explanation below) |
| 22 | 16:00 | 2.5° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 18:00 | 2.8° (declination) south of Moon | |
| June | ||
| 19 | 02:00 | 3.0° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 04:00 | 3.4° (declination) south of Moon | |
| 22 | 19:00 | west quadrature |
| 29 | 08:00 | 1.0° (declination) south of Neptune |
| July | ||
| 6 | 22:00 | maximum declination north: −1° 19′ 13″ |
| 7 | 22:30 | shallow maximum ring opening: −3.61° |
| 13 | 03:00 | stationary (ecliptic longitude): direct motion → retrograde motion |
| 14 | 19:00 | stationary (right ascension): direct motion → retrograde motion |
| 16 | 08:00 | 3.4° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 11:00 | 3.8° (declination) south of Moon | |
| August | ||
| 6 | 10:00 | 1.1° (declination) south of Neptune |
| 12 | 13:00 | 3.6° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 15:00 | 4.0° (declination) south of Moon | |
| September | ||
| 8 | 18:00 | 3.5° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 20:00 | 4.0° (declination) south of Moon | |
| 21 | 05:45 | opposition: magnitude +0.6, apparent diameter (disk) 19.50″, −1.82° ring tilt |
| 11:00 | minimum distance from Earth: 8.5468 au | |
| 27 | 04:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude south: −2.51° |
| 29 | 20:00 | Pisces → Aquarius |
| October | ||
| 6 | 01:00 | 3.3° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 03:00 | 3.8° (declination) south of Moon | |
| November | ||
| 2 | 09:00 | 3.2° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 11:00 | 3.7° (declination) south of Moon | |
| 24 | 12:00 | shallow minimum ring opening: −0.37° |
| 28 | 05:00 | stationary (ecliptic longitude): retrograde motion → direct motion |
| 29 | 00:00 | stationary (right ascension): retrograde motion → direct motion |
| 17:00 | 3.3° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon | |
| 19:00 | 3.8° (declination) south of Moon | |
| December | ||
| 17 | 05:00 | east quadrature |
| 27 | 01:00 | 3.6° (ecliptic latitude) south of Moon |
| 04:00 | 4.0° (declination) south of Moon | |
Both the Earth and the Sun pass through the plane of Saturn's rings in 2025. The geocentric crossing in March will take place too close to conjunction to be visible but the unlit side of the rings will be visible until May when the heliocentric crossing occurs. Observers will be able to witness this event as Saturn will be nearly 50° away from the Sun in the morning sky. In the diagram below, Saturn is pictured at various times of the year, including the two ring plane crossings. The distance from Earth, the magnitude of Saturn, and the tilt of the ring system is listed below each icon.
Copyright © 2025 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper