2025, September 20: Saturn at Opposition, Venus Steps Away from Regulus

September 20, 2025: Saturn is at opposition during the early morning hours of the 21st.  After a close grouping of Venus, Moon, and Regulus, the brilliant planet steps away from the star.

Saturn through the Hubble Space Telescope
Photo Caption – A Hubble View of Saturn (NASA)

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:35 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:53 p.m. CDT.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

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Saturn at Opposition

Saturn Retrogrades
Chart Caption – 2025, July 13-November 27: Saturn retrogrades.

Saturn is at opposition overnight. This occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and a more distant planet, placing Saturn and the Sun in opposite directions. Saturn rises in the eastern sky as the Sun sets, reaches the south around midnight (add an hour for Daylight Saving Time), and sets in the west at sunrise. Simply put, Saturn’s location in the sky is opposite the Sun.

At opposition, at 12:46 a.m. Central Time on the 21st, the Ringed Wonder is closest to Earth, nearly 795 million miles away.

Saturn
Photo Caption – Saturn (NASA)

The outer planets shine brightest at opposition, though Saturn is noticeably dimmer than Venus and Jupiter. Even so, it outshines the nearby stars. Saturn appears dimmer than average this year because we are viewing its highly reflective rings nearly edge-on, like the side of a dinner plate.

Saturn's orbit
Chart caption – Saturn moves through its orbit.

Like Earth, Saturn’s axis of rotation is tilted relative to its orbital plane. As Saturn completes its 30-year orbit, the Sun shines more directly on alternating hemispheres, much like Earth’s seasonal changes during its 365-day year. Earlier this year, the Sun shone more directly on Saturn’s equator, which is aligned with the ring plane. During the next 15 years, the sun shines more directly on the southern hemisphere. Through a telescope tonight, the rings remain are edge-on, tilted less than 2°.

Venus Steps Away

Venus, Regulus, September 20, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, September 20: Venus is to the lower left of Regulus before sunrise.

In addition to Saturn’s opposition, Venus is moving away from Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, after yesterday’s rare gathering of the two celestial wonders with the crescent Moon. The Moon reaches its new phase tomorrow at 2:54 p.m. Central Time.

With the beginning of the next lunation, a partial solar eclipse is visible over the South Pacific, parts of Antarctica, and New Zealand. The maximum eclipse (86%) occurs at 19:42 UTC tomorrow.

Five planets are visible two before sunrise.  The bright planets extend from Venus, low in the eastern sky to Saturn in the southwest. Bright Jupiter is to Venus’ upper right.  A binocular is needed to see Uranus near the Pleiades and Neptune near Saturn.

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