At the speed of light to Saturn: about 79 minutes
At the speed of light (1,079,252,849 km/h) it would take about 79 minutes to get to Saturn – at the average distance of 1.43 billion km, non-stop and in a straight line.
Because the distance keeps changing, the travel time ranges from 67 minutes (closest) to 1.5 hours (farthest).
For comparison
A bit shorter than a feature film – and about as long as sunlight takes to reach Saturn.
How it is calculated
- Closest distance
- 1.2 billion km
- Average distance
- 1.43 billion km
- Farthest distance
- 1.66 billion km
- Speed
- 1,079,252,849 km/h
- Formula
- Travel time = distance ÷ speed
- Result
- 1.43 billion km ÷ 1,079,252,849 km/h ≈ 79 minutes
Assumption: constant speed in a straight line, with no stops, acceleration or braking. Real spacecraft fly curved paths and use the gravity of planets.
Good to know: Saturn
Saturn is the ringed planet: its main rings of ice and rock span about 270,000 km but are mostly only ten metres to a kilometre thick. It is about 9.5 times as far from the Sun as Earth, and sunlight needs about 80 minutes to reach it.
→ Fact sheet: Saturn