Saturn at opposition, 11 December 2031

Saturn reaches opposition on 11 December 2031 around 19:43 UTC: the Sun, Earth and the planet line up, with the planet opposite the Sun, so it is visible all night. It is also closest to Earth, about 8.05 astronomical units (1,205 million km) away.

Visibility from Hungary (calculated for Budapest): the best moment to observe is 11 December 2031, 23:28 CET: the target stands 64° high in the south, under a dark sky. The calculation is for Budapest; elsewhere in the country rise and set times differ by only a few minutes.

In the page's interactive 3D model the time machine jumps to this moment (11 December 2031) and the camera takes the view that fits the event: a close-up of the planet. You can freely scrub time forwards and backwards.

Planet positions come from our own approximate calculation (about 0.1-1° accuracy, times within a few hours).