Where are the planets right now?
The solar system at this moment, 1 Nov 2026, 06:20 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: Neptune and Pluto. Morning sky before sunrise: Mars and Jupiter. Up most of the night: Saturn and Uranus. Lost in the Sun’s glare: Mercury and Venus. (Uranus is at the limit of naked-eye visibility from a dark site and easy in binoculars; Neptune and Pluto need a telescope.)
Open the live 3D orreryEvery planet right now
| Planet | From the Sun | From Earth | Light time | In the sky | Motion | Next | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.33 AU | 0.68 AU102 million km | 5.7 min | lost in the Sun’s glare8° east of the Sun | retrograde | Best morning view 21 Nov 2026 | 3D view |
| Venus | 0.72 AU | 0.28 AU42 million km | 2.3 min | lost in the Sun’s glare13° west of the Sun | retrograde | Best morning view 3 Jan 2027 | 3D view |
| Mars | 1.59 AU | 1.43 AU214 million km | 11.9 min | morning sky80° west of the Sun | direct | Opposition 20 Feb 2027 | 3D view |
| Jupiter | 5.32 AU | 5.50 AU822 million km | 45.7 min | morning sky74° west of the Sun | direct | Opposition 11 Feb 2027 | 3D view |
| Saturn | 9.43 AU | 8.56 AU1,280 million km | 71.2 min | up most of the night150° east of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 18 Oct 2027 | 3D view |
| Uranus | 19.45 AU | 18.55 AU2,775 million km | 2.57 h | up most of the night154° west of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 26 Nov 2026 | 3D view |
| Neptune | 29.87 AU | 29.07 AU4,349 million km | 4.03 h | evening sky143° east of the Sun | retrograde | Opposition 29 Sept 2027 | 3D view |
| Plutodwarf planet | 35.64 AU | 35.72 AU5,344 million km | 4.95 h | evening sky84° east of the Sun | direct | 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. Whether you can see an evening or morning planet also depends on your latitude and the season: the night sky page works it out for your location. Without JavaScript the figures are those from when this page was published.
A live map of 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 217° of sky right now; the summary at the top says which of them are in the evening or morning sky. The next listed planet parade is on 14 Nov 2026: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter in the morning sky before sunrise. Mercury (17° from the Sun) can be seen only between about 4°S and 58°N; Venus (29°) only north of about 48°S.
A “planet parade” is several planets in the same part of the sky at once, as seen from Earth. Lists of them count any few planets on one side of the Sun, Uranus and Neptune included, so this page gives how spread out the five bright ones are rather than a yes or no. 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. Checked against the precise VSOP87 theory behind the night sky page, they are within about 10 arcminutes (a third of the Moon’s width) from 2016 to 2036, the inner planets within 5. 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 in the sky after sunset, in the general direction the Sun went down, though one close to the Sun may set before the sky is dark; 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. At opposition itself the Sun, Earth and the planet line up in a syzygy, and the planet is at about its closest and brightest for the year. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are naked-eye objects; Uranus is at the limit of naked-eye visibility from a dark site and easy in binoculars, and Neptune needs a telescope. For what is above your own horizon tonight, and when, use the night sky page.
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?
Within about 10 arcminutes (a third of the Moon’s width) of a precise ephemeris from 2016 to 2036, the inner planets within 5, 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. Far back in time the dates are in the proleptic Gregorian calendar and the time of day is only approximate, out by hours in antiquity, because Earth’s spin has slowed by an amount known only roughly.