What is the exact date of Voyager 1's closest approach to Saturn?

What is the exact date of Voyager 1’s closest approach to Saturn? It was November 12, 1980. Voyager 1 reached closest approach at approximately 23:46 UTC, passing about 124,000 kilometers from Saturn’s cloud tops.

The flyby was the second major planetary encounter of Voyager 1’s mission, following its Jupiter encounter on March 5, 1979. Saturn’s gravity then redirected the spacecraft toward Titan, whose atmosphere was a central target of the encounter. Because the planned trajectory required a close Titan flyby, Voyager 1 did not continue on to Uranus and Neptune.

Voyager 1’s observations transformed knowledge of Saturn. Its cameras revealed intricate ring structures, while its instruments studied Saturn’s atmosphere, magnetic environment, and moons. The spacecraft also helped identify additional ring detail and a previously unknown moon.

The date is sometimes confused with Voyager 2’s Saturn encounter, which occurred on August 26, 1981. November 13 is also incorrect: reports and mission timelines place Voyager 1’s closest approach on November 12, with the event occurring late in the UTC day.