How Far is Saturn From the Sun in Miles?

Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System, and the 6th planet from the Sun. But how far is Saturn from the Sun in miles?

You can also check out these cool telescopes that will help you see the beauty of planet Saturn.

Saturn orbits the Sun at an average distance of 903 million miles. This number is an average distance, though, what astronomers call a planet’s semi-major axis. Saturn actually follows an elliptical distance around the Sun; sometimes it’s closer, and other times it’s further from the Sun.

At the closest point of its orbit around the Sun, called perihelion, Saturn gets within 840 million miles from the Sun. And then at the furthest point of its orbit, called aphelion, Saturn is 941 million miles from the Sun. Saturn’s orbital eccentricity, the amount that its orbit is elliptical, is 0.0565.

Another way that astronomers measure distance in the Solar System is through astronomical units. 1 astronomical unit (AU) is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. So, Saturn’s average distance 9.582 AU; its perihelion is 9.195 AU, and its aphelion is 9.957 AU.

We have written many articles about Saturn for Universe Today. Here’s an article with some pictures of Saturn, and here’s an article about Saturn compared to Earth.

If you’d like more info on Saturn, check out Hubblesite’s News Releases about Saturn. And here’s a link to the homepage of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn.

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about Saturn. Listen here, Episode 59: Saturn.