Where are the planets right now?
The solar system at this moment, 23 Sept 2026, 21:37 UTC. Everything below is computed in your browser from JPL orbital elements — the same data behind the 3D orrery — and refreshes every minute.
Evening sky after sunset: Mercury, Venus and Pluto. Morning sky before sunrise: Mars, Jupiter and Uranus. Up most of the night: Saturn and Neptune. Lost in the Sun’s glare: none. (Uranus needs binoculars; Neptune and Pluto a telescope.)
Open the live 3D orreryEvery planet right now
| Planet | From the Sun | From Earth | Light time | In the sky | Motion | Next | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.47 AU | 1.26 AU188 million km | 10.5 min | evening sky20° east of the Sun | direct | Best evening view 12 Oct 2026 | 3D view |
| Venus | 0.73 AU | 0.39 AU58 million km | 3.2 min | evening sky36° east of the Sun | direct | Best morning view 3 Jan 2027 | 3D view |
| Mars | 1.55 AU | 1.71 AU256 million km | 14.2 min | morning sky63° west of the Sun | direct | Opposition 20 Feb 2027 | 3D view |
| Jupiter | 5.30 AU | 6.00 AU897 million km | 49.9 min | morning sky43° west of the Sun | direct | Opposition 11 Feb 2027 | 3D view |
| Saturn | 9.44 AU | 8.46 AU1,265 million km | 70.3 min | up most of the night169° west of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 4 Oct 2026 | 3D view |
| Uranus | 19.45 AU | 19.01 AU2,843 million km | 2.63 h | morning sky115° west of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 26 Nov 2026 | 3D view |
| Neptune | 29.87 AU | 28.87 AU4,319 million km | 4.00 h | up most of the night178° west of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 26 Sept 2026 | 3D view |
| Plutodwarf planet | 35.61 AU | 35.07 AU5,246 million km | 4.86 h | evening sky122° east of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 29 Jul 2027 | 3D view |
Distances are centre to centre. “Evening sky” means the planet is east of the Sun and sets after it; “morning sky” means it rises before the Sun. Within 15° of the Sun a planet is lost in the glare; beyond 150° it is near opposition and up most of the night. Without JavaScript the figures are those from when this page was published.
The solar system from above, today
Looking down on the plane of the solar system from the north: the planets move anticlockwise, and the vernal equinox (0° longitude) is to the right. Orbit spacing is compressed exactly as in the orrery’s compact view; the positions along the orbits are real. Open the 3D orrery to spin this around, zoom in, and run time forwards or back.
Is there a planetary alignment right now?
The five naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are spread across 205° of sky right now, so there is no planet parade at the moment. The next one is on 14 Nov 2026: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter in the morning sky before sunrise.
A “planet parade” is several planets in the same part of the sky at once, as seen from Earth. The full list of upcoming and past planet parades explains what they are and links each one into the orrery.
How this is computed
Each planet’s position comes from JPL’s long-range Keplerian elements (the Standish tables, fitted for 3000 BC – 3000 AD), solved in your browser at the instant shown. That is the same data and the same solver as the 3D orrery, so the two always agree. Positions are geometric: light-travel time and aberration are not applied, and the figures are good to a few arcminutes for the present day. Times are UTC.
These are astronomical positions, not a horoscope: no signs, no houses, no predictions. For a professional-grade ephemeris use JPL Horizons.
Questions
Which planets can I see tonight?
The summary at the top names them for the current moment. Planets listed under the evening sky are east of the Sun, so they are above the horizon after sunset, in the general direction the Sun went down; those under the morning sky rise before the Sun. A planet more than 150° from the Sun is near opposition and up most of the night. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are naked-eye objects; Uranus needs binoculars and Neptune a telescope.
What does “retrograde” mean in the table?
Apparent retrograde motion: for a few weeks or months around opposition a planet appears to drift backwards (westward) against the stars, because Earth is overtaking it on the inside — or, for Mercury and Venus, because they are overtaking Earth. The planet never actually reverses; it is a line-of-sight effect. The table checks each planet’s geocentric longitude a day either side of now. It has nothing to do with astrology.
How accurate are these positions?
Good to a few arcminutes for the present day, drifting to a fraction of a degree at the ends of the 3000 BC – 3000 AD range. Distances are centre to centre. This page is an educational tool, not a navigational or scientific reference.
Can I see where the planets were, or will be, on another date?
Yes — the 3D orrery takes any date and time from 3000 BC to 3000 AD, plays time forwards or backwards, follows any planet, and jumps straight to famous alignments from its events menu.