The Position of Saturn in the Night Sky:

2014 to 2022

 by Martin J. Powell

The path of Saturn against the background stars of Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius and Capricornus from November 2013 to February 2023, with positions marked on the first day of each month (click on thumbnail for full-size image, 218 KB). The dates are colour-coded by year; a quick-glance legend is towards the lower left (e.g. all 2017 positions are shown in orange). Periods when the planet was unobservable (i.e. when it was too close to the Sun, or passed behind it) are indicated by a dashed line; hence Saturn became lost from view (in the evening sky) in early December 2017 and became visible again (in the morning sky) in early January 2018. The star map applies to observers in the Northern hemisphere (i.e. North is up); for the Southern hemisphere view, click here (222 KB).

The faintest stars on the map have an apparent magnitude of about +4.8. Printer-friendly versions of this chart are available for Northern (102 KB) and Southern hemisphere (103 KB) views. Astronomical co-ordinates of Right Ascension (longitude, measured Eastwards in hrs:mins from the First Point of Aries) and Declination (latitude, measured in degrees North or South of the celestial equator) are marked around the border of the chart. Click here to see a 'clean' star map of the area (i.e. without planet path); a printable version can be found here. A night sky photograph of Sagittarius and its surrounding constellations can be seen below.

The chart shows the changing shape of Saturn's apparent looping formation as it moves through the zodiac, from a Northward-facing loop in Libra in 2014 to a Southward-facing 'hybrid' in Capricornus in 2022. For a fuller description of the planets' apparent loops against the background stars, refer to the Planet Movements page.

Having spent a period of just over three years in the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin, Saturn moved South-eastwards into Libra, the Balance in late August 2013. From this time through to the early 2020s the planet occupied the constellations of the Southern zodiac stretching through to Capricornus, the Sea Goat. The ringed planet last occupied this region of the zodiac between 1984 and 1993.

Saturn imaged by Australian amateur astronomer Trevor Barry through his 16-inch Newtonian reflector telescope on 26th April 2013, two days after the planet's opposition in North-western Libra (click on the thumbnail for a larger image, 5 KB). South is up and East is to the right (Image: Trevor Barry)

At the close of 2013 and throughout 2014, Saturn described a Northward-facing loop in central Libra, positioned to the North-east of the constellation's second-brightest star Zuben Elgenubi ( Lib or Alpha Librae, apparent magnitude +2.8). In 2015 the planet described another North-facing loop on the border with Scorpius, the Scorpion. Its Eastern stationary point was reached in mid-March 2015, positioned within the narrow Scorpian 'corridor' to the NNW of Antares ( Sco or Alpha Scorpii, mag. +1.0v). The planet retrograded (moved East to West) back into Libra in mid-May, reaching its Western stationary point in early August 2015. It then regained direct motion (West to East) and re-entered Scorpius in mid-October 2015. The following month the planet approached to within 0°.02 (1.5 arcminutes, where 1' = 1/60th of a degree) of the interesting quadruple star named Jabbah ( Sco or Nu Scorpii, mag. +4.0) in Northern Scorpius.

Saturn entered Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, in late November 2015 where it described a Northward-facing, flattened loop to the South-west of the star Sabik ( Oph or Eta Ophiuchi, mag. +2.5). A 'hybrid' formation (half loop, half zig-zag) was described in South-eastern Ophiuchus during 2017, with a three-month excursion into Sagittarius, the Archer. The planet reached its Eastern stationary point in early April, in Western Sagittarius, a short distance North-west of the Lagoon Nebula (M8 or NGC 6523). Saturn retrograded into Ophiuchus in mid-May 2017, reaching its Western stationary point North of the star Theta Ophiuchi ( Oph, mag. +3.2) in late August 2017. After resuming direct motion the planet entered Sagittarius for the longer term in mid-November of that year. During 2018 the planet described a Northward-facing hybrid formation to the North of the constellation's well-known Teapot asterism, attaining its most Southerly declination (angle relative to the celestial equator) of -22° 46' 49" (-22°.78 in decimal form) in late October 2018. Hereafter Saturn began a slow Northward ascent through the zodiac, which will culminate when it is positioned in Gemini in 2033.

Whilst in the Eastern half of Sagittarius, Saturn described two classic 'zig-zag' formations. The first took place during 2019, when the planet was situated to the North-east of the Archer's second-brightest star Nunki ( Sgr or Sigma Sagittarii, mag. +2.0). In early February of that year, Saturn passed just 0°.4 (24') South of the star Omicron Sagittarii ( Sgr, mag. +3.7). In mid-February 2020, Saturn crossed the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun through the constellations, which the Moon and planets follow closely) in a Southward direction, the second 'zig-zag' formation being described immediately afterwards, on the border between Sagittarius and Capricornus. The planet was positioned a little to the North of the eighth-magnitude globular cluster M75 (NGC 6864) at this time. Saturn reached its Eastern stationary point in Western Capricornus in mid-May 2020 before retrograding back into Sagittarius in early July, where the planet reached its Western stationary point in late September.

Having now moved to the South of the ecliptic, Saturn's loops switched from Northward-facing to Southward-facing. After spending some three years in Sagittarius, Saturn entered Capricornus for the longer term in mid-December 2020, where its Northward ascent of the zodiac became more evident. The planet described two Southward-facing hybrid formations here, one in 2021 and another in 2022. In May 2021 Saturn reached its Eastern stationary point just 0°.6 (37') West of the fourth-magnitude star Cap (Theta Capricornus). January 2022 saw the planet pass just 0°.25 (15') South of the same star. The planet left Capricornus and entered Aquarius, the Water Carrier, in February 2023 and exited the star chart shortly thereafter.

Opposition Data

Details of the nine Saturnian oppositions covered by the above star map are given in the table below. Note how the planet's appearance changed slightly at each opposition, the ring system displaying varying tilt angles to the Earth as it orbited the Sun (for more details, see the diagram of Saturn's orbit). Like the other Solar System planets, Saturn's apparent size (its angular diameter as seen from the Earth) varies slightly at each opposition because its orbit is slightly elliptical.

The dates on which Saturn reached superior conjunction (i.e. when it passed behind the Sun as seen from the Earth) are also shown in the table. The planet is not normally visible from the Earth for about two weeks on either side of these dates.

Saturn opposition data for the period 2014 to 2022 (click on thumbnail for full-size table, 62 KB). The Declination is the angle of the planet to the North (+) or South (-) of the celestial equator; on the star chart, it represents the planet's angular distance above or below the blue line. The angular diameter (or apparent size) of the planet as seen from Earth is given in arcseconds (where 1 arcsecond = 1/3600th of a degree).

Note that Saturn's distance at each opposition slowly increased through to 2018, at which time it crossed the aphelion point in its orbit, causing its angular diameter to shrink slightly year by year. From 2019 onwards, each successive opposition brought it slightly closer to the Earth, increasing its apparent size each time. Saturn's apparent magnitude (brightness) reached a low point when the Earth passed through the planet's ring-plane in 2009. It began to brighten again thereafter and reached a 'peak' in 2018 when the rings appeared almost fully open.

The Ring Tilt (the ring plane opening angle to the Earth) is positive (+) when Saturn's Northern hemisphere is tipped towards the Earth and negative (-) when the planet's Southern hemisphere is tipped towards the Earth; the maximum value it can attain is ±27°.0. The Ring Tilt values were obtained from the SETI Institute's Saturn Ephemeris Generator 2.5. All other data was obtained from the software 'Redshift', the 'SkyGazer Ephemeris' utility and the 'Cielo e Terra' website. The Saturn images were modified by the writer from NASA's Solar System Simulator.

The rings were fully on display in 2017, when the planet was in Ophiuchus and ideally placed for Southern hemisphere observers. Although it was then near its greatest possible distance from the Earth, and at its lowest possible viewing altitude for Northern hemisphere observers, Saturn's presentation of its Northern hemisphere and ring face was nonetheless an impressive sight. The planet reached aphelion (its furthest orbital point from the Sun) in Sagittarius in April 2018, when it was 10.065 Astronomical Units from the Sun (1,505 million kms or 935 million statute miles).

[Terms in yellow italics are explained in greater detail in an associated article describing planetary movements in the night sky.]

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Saturn Conjunctions with other Planets,

August 2014 to April 2022

Saturn's most interesting conjunctions take place when the planet is within a few months of opposition - and is therefore very bright - at which times they involve either Jupiter or Mars; these events are however very rare. Most conjunctions between Saturn and Jupiter (or Saturn and Mars) occur at elongations of less than 90°, when Saturn is far from its brightest in any given apparition. Between 2014 and 2020, for example, only two conjunctions were positioned more than 90° from the Sun, the majority taking place at solar elongations of less than 45°. Throughout the period, Saturn shone at a relatively dim apparent magnitude of around +0.6.

When Saturn's rings are well-presented to the Earth, the planet's apparent magnitude brightens significantly. A conjunction between Saturn and Mars in Southern Ophiuchus on August 25th 2016 - when the rings were close to their maximum opening angle - saw Saturn shine at magnitude +0.5 (one half-magnitude fainter than at opposition) and Mars at magnitude -0.4. With both planets positioned some 97° to the East of the Sun, this conjunction was easily seen against a dark Western sky after sunset.

Because the ringed planet was traversing the Southern zodiac during the period in question, it follows that the majority of conjunctions were best seen from the Southern hemisphere. Even where the majority of the Northern hemisphere had a relatively good view it was almost always difficult or impossible to observe from higher Northern latitudes.

The rarest of the conjunctions during the period was that between Saturn and Jupiter in December 2020. Conjunctions between these two planets were known historically as Great Conjunctions and they take place about every twenty years. However, they are not always best placed for viewing, sometimes occurring at narrow solar elongations. Perhaps the best-known of the 'Great Conjunctions' happened in the year 7 BC, in the constellation of Pisces, the Fishes, an event which has been considered a possible explanation for the Star of Bethlehem mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible. Specifically, this was a triple conjunction - a series of three conjunctions which took place during that year - which, it is argued, was such an unusual chain of events that the Magi (the 'wise men' or astrologers) gave it a special significance. Critics of this theory say, among other things, that the two planets were too far apart to attract any particular attention, their angular separation at best having been about 1° (about two apparent Full Moon diameters).

The 'Great Conjunction' of December 2020 took place on the day of Earth's winter solstice, the planets being only 30° away from the Sun in the evening sky. Whilst not ideally placed for viewing and being well past their opposition dates, Saturn and Jupiter were separated by only 6 arcminutes (0°.1), making them both visible in the field-of-view of most telescopic eyepieces. The two planets will next meet in November 2040 in the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin.

The following table details the conjunctions involving Saturn which took place at solar elongations of greater than 15° over the period in question. In several cases, other planets and/or stars were also in the vicinity and these are detailed. Note that, because some of the conjunctions occur in twilight, the planets involved may not have appeared as bright as their listed magnitude suggests.

Saturn conjunctions with other planets from August 2014 to April 2022 (click on thumbnail for full-size table, 97 KB). Note that there were no observable planetary conjunctions involving Saturn during 2015 or 2021. The column headed 'UT' is the Universal Time (equivalent to GMT) of the conjunction (in hrs : mins). The separation (column 'Sep') is the angular distance between the two planets, measured relative to Saturn, hence on 2018 Apr 2, Mars was positioned 1°.2 South of Saturn at the time shown. The 'Favourable Hemisphere' column shows the Hemisphere in which the conjunction was best observed. Note that observers located close to the Northern/Southern visibility boundary of any given conjunction will have found it difficult or impossible to observe because of low altitude and/or bright twilight.

In the 'When Visible' column, a distinction is made between Dawn/Morning visibility and Dusk/Evening visibility; the terms Dawn/Dusk refer specifically to the twilight period before sunrise/after sunset, whilst the terms Evening/Morning refer to the period after darkness falls/before twilight begins (some conjunctions take place in darkness, others do not, depending upon latitude). The 'Con' column shows the constellation in which the planets were positioned at the time of the conjunction.

To find the direction in which any given conjunction was seen, note down the constellation in which the planets were located ('Con' column) on the required date and find the constellation's rising direction (for Dawn/Morning conjunctions) or setting direction (for Dusk/Evening conjunctions) for your particular latitude in the Rise-Set direction table.

Although any given conjunction takes place at a particular instant in time, it is worth pointing out that, because of the planets' relatively slow daily motions, such events are interesting to observe for several days both before and after the actual conjunction date.

There are in fact two methods of defining a planetary conjunction date: one is measured in Right Ascension (i.e. perpendicular to the celestial equator) and the other is measured along the ecliptic, which is inclined at 23½° to the Earth's equatorial plane (this is due to the tilt of the Earth's axis in space). An animation showing how conjunction dates are determined by each method can be found on the Jupiter-Uranus 2010-11 triple conjunction page. Although conjunctions measured along the ecliptic can be significantly closer, the Right Ascension method is the more commonly used, and it is the one which is adopted here.

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Constellations of the Southern Zodiac: Photos

Three Photographs showing the region of the night sky through which Saturn passed between 2014 and 2022 (click on the thumbnails for their full-size versions; 49 KB, 183 KB and 57 KB). The chart on the left (77 KB) shows the areas of the star chart which are covered by each of the photographs.

The faintest stars visible in each photo are slightly different in each case. For the Capricornus photo, the faintest stars visible are about magnitude +7.1; for the Sagittarius photo, the faintest stars are about magnitude +8.1 and for the Libra & Northern Scorpius photo the magnitude limit is about +7.

Note that the photographs do not have the same scale because of the varying camera lens settings and image resolutions.

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Moon near Saturn Dates, 2022

On one or two days in each month, the Moon can be used as our celestial guide to help in locating Saturn in the sky. Use the following table to determine on which dates the Moon was in the vicinity of the planet during 2022:

The Moon moves relatively quickly against the background stars in an Eastward direction, at about its own angular width (0º.5) each hour (about 12º.2 per day). Because it is relatively close to the Earth, an effect called parallax causes it to appear in a slightly different position (against the background stars) when seen from any two locations on the globe at any given instant; the further apart the locations, the greater the Moon's apparent displacement against the background stars. Therefore, for any given date and time listed in the table, the Moon will have appeared closer to Saturn when seen from some locations than from others. For this reason, the dates shown in the table should be used only for general guidance.

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Credits

• The star chart was produced using the commercial software MegaStar by Willmann-Bell, Inc. Star colours were based on those shown in "Patrick Moore's Colour Star Atlas" (Mitchell Beazley Publishers Ltd., London, 1973).
• The times and separations of the lunar conjunctions with Saturn (Moon near Saturn dates) and the lunar phases were obtained from the commercial software RedShift 5 by Maris Technologies Ltd. using the 'Conjunctions' option of the 'Sky Diary'.
• The dates of Saturn's aphelion and perihelion were determined using the free SkyGazer Ephemeris software by John Biondo.
• The dates of Saturn's maximum ring opening angle to Earth and its most Southerly declination were determined using the SETI Institute's Saturn Ephemeris Generator 2.5.

• The zodiac signs used in the Saturn opposition data table are from the free graphics site .

Copyright  Martin J Powell  2013-2022