SATURN REACHES OPPOSITION TONIGHT! – 20/09/2025

This evening, the 20th of September into the morning of the 21st of September, stargazers will be treated to a special astronomical event when the amazing ringed planet reaches a position in relation to the Sun and Earth that is known as “Opposition”.

“What does this mean?” we hear you say. When a planet reaches opposition this means it is the best time of the year to observe that planet.

When a planet reaches opposition, this means that the planet is in alignment with the Sun and Earth, with the planet on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the sun. During this time, the planet reaches its closest distance to the Earth and will appear larger and brighter than at any other time of year.

Whilst Saturn has been a prominent feature of our nighttime skies for a while now, it will appear even more impressive at opposition.

Saturn will be visible all night long, shining at an impressive magnitude of 0.58 and will reach a peak altitude of almost 33 degrees at its highest point in the sky.

The opposition of Saturn also coincides with this month’s new moon, meaning the skies will be at their darkest, and so there could not be a more perfect time to observe Saturn this year.

You don’t need any special equipment to view this opposition, however if you own a pair of binoculars or a telescope you may be able to make out more detail.

When viewed by eye, Saturn will appear as a bright star like object in the sky displaying a beautiful yellow/orange hue.

When viewed with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, Saturn’s colour may become more apparent and you may also be able to see Saturn’s rings! For those with a telescope, the opposition will also be an excellent opportunity to spot Saturn’s moons!

If you are able to see Saturn’s rings you will also notice that they appear very thin and almost edge on to us at this moment in time too!

The exact time Saturn will reach opposition will be around 3:30 BST on the morning of the 21st and so the night of the 20th into the morning of the 21st will be the best time to observe Saturn. However, don’t worry if you don’t get to see Saturn on this evening, it will still appear very bright for many nights to come.

Saturn can currently be found in the constellation of Pisces the fishes, just below the asterism known as the Circlet and roughly halfway between the bright star Markab of the constellation Pegasus and Diphda of the constellation Cetus. Another way to find Saturn is to find the great square of Pegasus, Saturn can be found below this well known asterism.

On the evening of the 20th, Saturn will rise above the Eastern horizon during the early evening twilight, at around 19:13 BST. Saturn will become easier to spot as the skies become darker and as the planet climbs higher in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest elevation of almost 33 degrees high at roughly 01:04 BST. Following this, the amazing ringed planet will then begin to descend travelling towards the West where it will set in the dawn twilight at 06:46 BST.

- Wrap up warm! The ever increasingly long and dark nights of September can be quite chilly, so make sure to dress warm if you’re heading out.

- You can tell the difference between stars and planets by seeing if they twinkle! Stars will appear to twinkle, but planets shine with a consistently solid brightness.

- You don’t need to be anywhere particularly dark to view Saturn because it will be very bright, however being in a dark location will allow you to see more of the other celestial delights in the night sky.

- If you are in a dark location, allow your eyes 15 – 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness without looking at any bright lights. This will allow you to see even more faint objects in the night sky. If you need to use a torch, use a torch that emits only red light. Red light interferes with your night vision much less than white light.

- You don’t need any special equipment to view this opposition, but a pair of binoculars or a telescope may allow you to see more detail.

There are many other celestial treats in our night skies at this moment in time, here is a small selection of amazing night sky sights to look out for:

- We have a number of minor meteor showers active at this moment in time, including the Southern Taurids. So it's worth keeping an eye out for those beautiful streaks of light known as shooting stars.

- The autumn Milky Way is a beautiful sight and can be seen stretching all the way across the sky overhead under dark skies.

- The asterism known as the Summer Triangle is a prominent asterism in our current night time skies and can help you find where to view our home galaxy the Milky Way. The brightest stars of the constellations Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila – the stars Deneb, Vega and Altair respectively, create a huge triangle in the night sky known as the Summer Triangle. They are located in a bright section of the Milky Way known as the Cygnus region. The body of the swan Cygnus also creates a cross like shape known as the Northern Cross. If you follow the length of the cross and continue tracing along the direction of this line, this can show you where the rest of the Milky Way stretches across the sky.

- The great Hercules globular star cluster M13 in the constellation of Hercules is an awe-inspiring sight when viewed through binoculars or a telescope and is also visible to the naked eye under favourable conditions. The glow from this Summer time treat (created from a super dense concentration of stars) is fairly easy to see in our night time skies, and we recommend you try to find it with your binoculars or telescope.

- Our closest galactic neighbour, the amazing Andromeda Galaxy can also be spotted to the eye as a small, faint and fuzzy elliptical shape in the constellation of Andromeda.

- We are now truly within what many people consider the Aurora season! Due to the skies becoming darker, chances of viewing the Aurora are now much higher and the Aurora may now be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity.

As well as the ringed planet Saturn, September is a great time to spot other bright planets…

- The brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be easily seen shining brightly at a blazing magnitude of -3.91 towards the East in the early morning before sunset, located in the constellation of Leo and nearby to bright star Regulus.

- The gas giant Jupiter can also be observed in the early morning in the constellation of Gemini, nearby to the bright stars Pollux and Castor.

If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen throughout September, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for September 2025.

We always love hearing about your celestial adventures! If you head out to witness this special celestial event or any other sights in the night sky, please feel free to share your stories and photos in the comments below. 😊

The sight of Saturn at opposition will be beautiful whether seen by eye, binoculars or telescope, and Saturn’s opposition will also be an excellent opportunity to capture images of the ringed planet. And so if you can, we recommend heading out to witness the amazing planet Saturn at opposition!

We wish you all good luck and clear skies! 💖