Why do the planets move?
Gravity keeps the planets traveling around the Sun. Their different paths and speeds mean the arrangement changes every day. The explorer uses calculated positions, so you can follow those changes for yourself.
Explore our Solar System
Start with home.
Meet your home planet. Then follow your curiosity to the Moon, Saturn’s rings and the worlds beyond.
Explore Earth and the planets in 3D
FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY
Explore in 3D when you’re ready. Nothing moves until you choose.
RELATIVE DISTANCES Planet dots enlarged
Our home
Drag to turn the view. Pinch to get closer.
Explore more Choose a date, visit another planet, or adjust your view
Positions are sampled each day at noon UTC.
See the position data
Heliocentric mean ecliptic J2000 coordinates in astronomical units. One AU is approximately 149.6 million km. Jupiter through Neptune use planetary-system barycentres. These are geometric positions, without light-time correction.
| Planet | Sun distance (AU) | X (AU) | Y (AU) | Z (AU) |
|---|
The 3D view is optional. Everything else on this page works without it.
How this works & image credits
Real positions, an illustrated view. Planet positions come from NASA/JPL’s DE421 ephemeris, sampled each day at noon UTC from 2024–2049. Paths trace the selected year; outer planets show part of an orbit. Planet markers are enlarged. The optional compressed view brings planets closer together while keeping their directions from the Sun; it changes angles seen from Earth.
The Moon’s light follows the geometry. The illuminated fraction uses the actual Sun–Moon–Earth angle, viewed from Earth’s center. The scene does not predict local visibility, eclipse shadows, or surface orientation. About the JPL source ↗
Planet textures: Solar System Scope / NASA-derived maps, CC BY 4.0. Jupiter: NASA Goddard / STScI, Hubble 2015. Moon: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio / LRO. The Earth starter picture is AI-generated illustrative artwork; it is replaced by the credited maps when 3D starts. Runtime surfaces, city lights and clouds are historical illustrations, with some filled terrain and adjusted colors. They do not show live weather or date-accurate rotation. The Moon’s near side faces Earth; libration and pole tilt are not modeled. Sun glow and decorative stars are artistic, not a sky chart. Why the Moon changes shape · About Saturn’s rings.
About this view
Your starting view
Earth
Selected sample: .
The explorer calculates one sample each day at noon UTC. Playing or scrubbing advances between those samples without inventing positions between them. Solar-system markers are enlarged; compressed distances are selected.
What you are looking at
A few things to wonder about.
How far away is everything?
Much farther than a picture can easily show. The planets are enlarged here so you can find them. Open the extra controls to compare real distances and see just how much space lies between worlds.
Why does the Moon change shape?
The Sun lights half the Moon. As the Moon travels around Earth, we see different amounts of that bright half. Try the Moon chapter and move through a few days to watch the light change.
Can I see these planets outside?
Often, yes. Some planets can look like bright, steady stars. Which ones you can see depends on the date, where you are, and whether the sky is dark and clear.
Background: NASA’s Solar System guide ↗. See the explorer’s source and scale notes for the calculations used in this visualization.
Ready to head outside?
Take the next step outside. Your local stargazing outlook adds darkness, Moon position and the available forecast to help plan an observing night.