Time on Saturn Now

Saturn, known for its stunning rings, has a distinct relationship with time. The Saturn Planetary Clock adapts Earth’s Unix epoch (January 1, 1970) to Saturn’s rotational and orbital characteristics, allowing you to observe how time progresses on this giant gas planet. Saturn’s combination of a relatively fast rotation and a long orbit around the Sun leads to a unique timekeeping system.

How it Works

The Planetary Clock takes Earth’s Unix time as a baseline and adjusts it for each planet’s day and year lengths. On Saturn, this involves the time it takes Saturn to complete one full rotation on its axis (a 'day'), and the time it takes Saturn to complete one full orbit around the Sun (a 'year').

By incorporating these factors, the Planetary Clock displays the current time and date on Saturn, synchronised to the Unix epoch.

 

Saturn's Unique Rotation and Orbit

Saturn has a faster rotation than Earth but a much slower orbit, which gives it a distinct timekeeping rhythm.

A day on Saturn lasts approximately 10 hours and 33 minutes. This means Saturn’s day is considerably shorter than an Earth day, and time passes more quickly on Saturn. The Planetary Clock reflects this by showing rapid progressions in Saturn’s day.

In contrast, Saturn takes about 29.5 Earth years to complete one orbit around the Sun. This means that while Saturn’s days are fast, its years pass very slowly compared to Earth. The Planetary Clock adjusts for this by showing Saturn advancing through its years at a much slower rate.

Saturn’s combination of short days and long years means that the Planetary Clock must balance these extremes. While you will see Saturn’s days cycle quickly, the planet remains in its early years according to Earth’s timeline due to its slow orbit around the Sun.