Where Are the Planets Right Now?
This model places each planet at its real position around the Sun for today's date, seen from above the plane of Earth's orbit. Press a speed button to set time running, use the back button to run it in reverse, or jump to any date between 1800 and 2050, such as your birthday. Click a planet to see how far it is from the Sun and from Earth right now, how long its year lasts and how long its day is.
What Is an Orrery?
An orrery is a model of the solar system that shows the planets moving around the Sun at their correct relative speeds. The first modern one was built around 1704 by the English clockmakers George Graham and Thomas Tompion. A copy made by John Rowley for Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery, gave the device its name. Brass orreries driven by clockwork gears became prized teaching tools and showpieces in the 18th century. This is a digital orrery, driven by the actual orbital elements of the planets instead of gears.
Why the Distances Look Squashed
The solar system is mostly empty space. Neptune is about 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth, so at true scale the four inner planets crowd into a tiny dot in the middle. By default the model compresses distances so every orbit is visible, while keeping each planet's direction from the Sun exact. Tick True distances to see the real proportions. The planets themselves are drawn hundreds of times larger than life so you can see them at all.
The Planets at a Glance
| Planet | Distance from Sun | Year | Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.39 AU | 88 days | 58.6 Earth days |
| Venus | 0.72 AU | 225 days | 243 Earth days, spinning backward |
| Earth | 1.00 AU | 365.26 days | 23 h 56 min |
| Mars | 1.52 AU | 687 days | 24 h 37 min |
| Jupiter | 5.20 AU | 11.9 years | 9 h 56 min |
| Saturn | 9.54 AU | 29.5 years | 10 h 33 min |
| Uranus | 19.2 AU | 84 years | 17 h 14 min, tipped on its side |
| Neptune | 30.1 AU | 165 years | 16 h 6 min |
1 AU (astronomical unit) is the average distance from Earth to the Sun, about 150 million km or 93 million miles. Day lengths are sidereal rotation periods.
How Accurate Is It?
Positions are calculated from NASA JPL's published Keplerian orbital elements for the planets, which are valid from 1800 to 2050 and accurate to within a fraction of a degree for most planets. That is precise enough to see real events: run time forward and you will see Earth pass between the Sun and each outer planet at its opposition, when that planet is brightest in the night sky.