Steve’s Virtual Planet

Saturn is back for 2025

Saturn is back in the late evening sky again for 2025 and easy to find in the southeastern sky after about 10:00, in the western part of the constellation Pisces. The ringed world has been getting higher in the sky daily, making for better views each week.

Opposition is on September 20 for this apparition and the rings are around 2 degree tilt, almost a straight line (edge on) but still looking very impressive. During this event, the rings will be their brightest due to the Seeliger Effect. Here’s a detailed account of this phenomenon as description by renowned observer Stephen James O’Meara. The Cassini division will still easy to make out with the rings still exposed in the eastern and western edges.

Looking ahead to October, I hope to get get some good views of the ringed planet through Fernbank’s 36 inch Cassegrain. There will be plenty of opportunities to catch the Lord of the Rings through Christmas and from late October, it will share the night sky with Jupiter. In the telescope, the Saturn’s pail yellow color is a easy to detect and fun to compare to the richer hues of Jupiter to the east.

EarthSky has some great resources for viewing the visible planets so you can keep up with all of these solar system objects in advance.

Wish you great views of Saturn this year! Clear skies!

First published Aug 7, 2024, Update Aug 27, 2025