A working atlas of the planets
Every planet where it really is today, lit by the real Sun. Spin it, zoom from the Sun to Pluto, change the date or fly between worlds. Free in your browser, no signup.
In a headset? Open the viewer and step into the solar system in VR
Worked out in your browser from JPL's orbital elements, the same maths that moves the planets in the 3D viewer.
An interactive simulation with real orbital mechanics, real textures and a real fly-through.
8K NASA-derived textures, custom GLSL shaders for the Sun and atmospheres, shadow-casting rings. Saturn's rings reach 282,000 kilometres from the planet, yet they are typically only 10 to 100 metres thick.
Read about SaturnSwitch into Fly mode and take the controls. Realistic gravity, momentum, and orbit stabilisation. Settle into low Earth orbit, slingshot past the Moon, then push out to Mars, all in real time.
Open the viewerToggle the science panel and the viewer streams real-time telemetry for the body in focus: phase, diameter, distance, velocity and orbital period, all from real ephemeris data.
Read about EarthOne interactive model, from the Sun's surface out to the stars around us, running on the real clock.
Every planet and the Moon sit where they are this second, worked out from JPL orbital elements and the Meeus lunar theory. The Earth turns on the real clock, so its day side matches yours.
Distances right nowSet any moment from 1800 to 2200, scrub a week either way, run time backwards, or jump to the next full Moon, equinox, eclipse or your birthday.
Upcoming sky eventsPut every world at its real size and distance and see how empty space really is. To Scale mode lines them up beside the Sun so the sizes finally make sense.
Compare the planetsTake the controls of a ship and cross from planet to planet, then open the galaxy map: 11,976 catalogued stars within 200 light years, with routes to plot and jumps to make.
Open the viewerComing solar and lunar eclipses play out from their real geometry: the Moon's shadow racing across the Earth, or the Moon turning red inside the Earth's.
EclipsesFollow the space station live, look down from its Cupola window, and switch on every active satellite, from Starlink to the geostationary belt.
ISS passes over youUpcoming Falcon 9 launches stand on their real pad, count down to the published T-0 and fly the mission, first-stage landing included.
The next launchZoom down to 15 metre satellite imagery, under NASA cloud imagery, with aurora round the poles and city lights on the night side.
Earth up close25 lessons from age 5 to university, ready to present on a projector or set for pupils, with every fact sourced.
For teachersWhen your Mac goes idle, the camera flies from world to world. Every planet sits where it really is right now, at true scale, lit by the real Sun. Watch the grand tour or stay with one world up close.
Where everything is
Each planet sits in its real direction from the Sun on the date below. Drag through the year, or play it, and watch the inner planets lap the outer ones.
The bodies
SunStar149,296,428 km
MercuryTerrestrial Planet148,967,846 km
VenusTerrestrial Planet43,991,548 km
EarthTerrestrial PlanetYou are here
MarsTerrestrial Planet236,560,215 km
JupiterGas Giant863,415,434 km
SaturnGas Giant1,263,306,598 km
UranusIce Giant2,801,152,729 km
NeptuneIce Giant4,326,595,859 km
PlutoDwarf Planet5,292,139,044 km
Checked against the sources
Every planet and the Moon is placed from its orbit, and the maths is tested against the agencies that publish the real values.
Pages that compare, rank and put the numbers in context, each with a jump into the 3D view.
From Earth's Moon to Triton's geysers: a page for every named major moon, with its parent body, diameter, orbital period and a one-click jump to its system in 3D.
Mars vs Earth, Jupiter vs Saturn, Sun vs Jupiter. Every spec lined up, with a one-click jump to either body in 3D.
Ten biggest by diameter. The largest is bigger than Mercury.
Saturn isn't alone. All four giants have ring systems.
Distance from the Sun isn't temperature. Venus runs hotter than Mercury.
Yes. The viewer runs in your browser with nothing to download and no account to make. The optional paid extras are the Mac screensaver, VR and AR on headsets, and the Moon, Mars, rovers and planes in the Qmax rocketry game.
Yes. Your browser works out each planet from JPL's orbital elements, and the Moon from the Meeus lunar theory, for the exact moment on the clock. Leave time on Real and the solar system keeps pace with the wall clock, or set any date from 1800 to 2200 (the planets' orbital elements are fitted for 1800 to 2050, so later dates are approximate). The moons of the other planets keep their real orbital periods, though where each one sits along its orbit is illustrative.
You choose. By default sizes and distances are spread out so every planet is visible at once, and a slider sets how much. The Realistic switch puts everything at its true size and distance, where the planets shrink to specks. To Scale mode lines up the Sun and planets side by side at their real relative sizes.
Drag to turn the view, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click any planet or moon to fly to it. The arrow buttons step from world to world, the time bar runs the clock from paused through real time to most of a year every second, forwards or backwards, and the controls panel holds the rest: To Scale, satellites, sky events, eclipses and fly mode.
Yes, in any current browser with WebGL 2: Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox. Phones and tablets get touch controls and lighter graphics. Fly mode is easiest with a keyboard.
Yes. Teachers mode has 25 ready-made lessons for ages 5 to university, each with a Present mode for the classroom projector and a pupil version with questions and tasks. Every fact in a lesson cites its source.
A simulation. Each body is placed from its orbit for the time on the clock, the Earth turns by its real rotation angle so the day side and the seasons match the date, and eclipses come out of the real geometry of the Sun, Earth and Moon. Run the clock backwards and everything retraces its path.
Planet positions from JPL orbital elements, the Moon from the Meeus lunar theory, satellites from CelesTrak and launches from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs. Surface maps come from NASA, USGS, ESA and EOX, with planet textures from Solar System Scope. The credits page lists every source.
Click any planet, drag to orbit, scroll to zoom. Or set the clock running and watch the solar system move on its own.
Open the viewer →