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Where is Voyager 1 now? Its live distance, and one light-day from Earth

Voyager 1 left Earth in 1977 and is now the most distant object people have ever made. On 18 November 2026 it reaches one light-day from Earth, the first spacecraft ever to get so far: from then on its radio signals take more than a day to reach us. Here is where it is right now, computed live from its trajectory.

Live position, 1 Nov 2026, 06:20 UTC

Voyager 1 is 172.86 AU (25.86 billion km) from Earth right now, farther than any other spacecraft has ever been, so a radio signal takes 23 hours and 58 minutes to reach it. It is leaving the solar system at 16.9 km/s, 35° above the plane of the planets, towards the constellation Ophiuchus. It will be one light-day from Earth, the distance light travels in 24 hours, on 18 November 2026 at 10:16 UTC: in 17 days and 3 hours.

From Earth
172.86 AU25,859,541,307 km
Radio signal
23 h 58 minone way, at the speed of light
From the Sun
172.22 AU25.76 billion km
Speed
16.9 km/sabout 61,000 km/h, 3.6 AU a year
One light-day
in 17 days and 3 hours18 Nov 2026, 10:16 UTC (NASA)
Direction
Ophiuchus35° above the plane of the planets; RA 17h 15m, Dec +12°
Launched
5 Sept 197749 years and 1 month ago

Follow Voyager 1 in the 3D orrery

Side view, to scale, of Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11 and New Horizons today, with the planets' orbits and the distance of one light-day from Earthone light-day from Earth (173 AU)Sunthe planets, out to Neptuneleft the heliosphere, 2012left the heliosphere, 2018Pioneer 10Pioneer 11New HorizonsVoyager 239° below the planetsVoyager 135° above the planets

Side view to scale, looking along the plane of the planets. Voyager 1 is drawn at its true distance; the other craft are seen at an angle, so they look a little closer in than they are. The open rings mark where the Voyagers left the heliosphere, and Earth’s orbit is hidden behind the Sun.

One light-day from Earth

A light-day is the distance light travels in a day: about 25.9 billion km, or 173.1 AU (173 times the distance from Earth to the Sun). NASA puts Voyager 1 at that distance from Earth on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 10:16 UTC (in 17 days and 3 hours). That is 05:16 on the US east coast, 10:16 in London and 20:16 in Brisbane. No spacecraft has been so far away before, and none will join it until Voyager 2 gets there, around November 2035.

This site’s own model of the trajectory, built from JPL Horizons data, crosses the line within five minutes of NASA’s time. See that day in the orrery.

When a signal first takes a full day depends on which way it travels, because Earth and the spacecraft both move while it is on its way. According to JPL Horizons, a command sent from Earth after about 18:25 UTC on 17 November takes more than 24 hours to reach Voyager 1, and the first signals to have been a full day on the way reach the Deep Space Network at about 02:18 UTC on 19 November.

Earth’s own orbit adds a twist. From late January to late April each year Earth swings round the Sun towards Voyager 1 faster than the spacecraft moves away, so the distance between them shrinks for a few months. In 2027 the dip bottoms out on about 24 April at 173.3 AU, just beyond one light-day, so once Voyager 1 crosses the line it never comes back inside.

Voyager 1’s journey

DateWhat happened
Launched from Cape Canaveral, 16 days after Voyager 2. It is Voyager 1 because its faster route reached Jupiter and Saturn first.
Closest approach to Jupiter. Its pictures showed erupting volcanoes on the moon Io, the first seen anywhere beyond Earth, and a faint ring round Jupiter. See it in the orrery
Saturn, with a close pass of its moon Titan. The route was chosen for the Titan flyby, and Saturn’s gravity then swung Voyager 1 up and out of the plane of the planets, which is why it is now far above it. See it in the orrery
Looking back from about 40 AU (6 billion km), it took the “Pale Blue Dot” picture of Earth and a family portrait of the planets. Its cameras were then switched off for good. See it in the orrery
Overtook Pioneer 10, about 69 AU from the Sun, to become the most distant object people have made.
Crossed the termination shock, where the solar wind suddenly slows down, at about 94 AU.
Left the heliosphere, the Sun’s bubble of solar wind, at about 120 AU (18 billion km): the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space. See it in the orrery
One light-day from Earth: 173.1 AU, about 25.9 billion km. See it in the orrery
2030sExpected to fall silent as its power runs down. NASA says it could stay within reach of the Deep Space Network until about 2036.

Where is Voyager 2?

Voyager 2 launched first, on 20 August 1977, on a slower route that took it past all four giant planets: Jupiter in July 1979, Saturn in August 1981, Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. It is still the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus or Neptune. Its pass over Neptune’s north pole swung it south, below the plane of the planets, and it left the heliosphere on 5 November 2018, about 119 AU from the Sun. It is slower than its twin and heading the other way out of the plane, so it trails Voyager 1 by about 28 AU.

From Earth
144.60 AU21,631,416,717 km
Radio signal
20 h 3 minone way, at the speed of light
From the Sun
144.36 AU21.60 billion km
Speed
15.3 km/sabout 55,000 km/h, 3.2 AU a year
Direction
Pavo39° below the plane of the planets; RA 20h 10m, Dec −60°
Launched
20 Aug 197749 years and 2 months ago

Follow Voyager 2 in the 3D orrery

Is Voyager 1 still working?

Yes, on a shrinking power budget. Each Voyager runs on radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which turn the heat of decaying plutonium into electricity, and their output falls by about 4 watts a year. To keep going, the team has switched off heaters and, one by one, most of the science instruments; another of Voyager 1’s instruments was turned off in April 2026, and a small number still send back measurements of interstellar space. By the time its signal reaches Earth it is so faint that only the biggest radio dishes can pick it up: NASA’s Deep Space Network tracks it day to day, and in 2013 the Very Long Baseline Array, a network of radio telescopes from Hawaii to the Caribbean, detected it in a test of its sensitivity. NASA says both craft could stay within reach of the network until about 2036, power permitting.

Long after they fall silent, both will carry on with a Golden Record on board: a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc of sounds and pictures of Earth, with spoken greetings in 55 languages, in case anyone ever finds it.

Has Voyager 1 left the solar system?

It depends where you draw the edge. On 25 August 2012 Voyager 1 left the heliosphere, the bubble that the solar wind blows round the Sun, so it is in interstellar space. But the Sun’s gravity rules far beyond that, out through the Oort cloud, the vast shell of icy bodies thought to supply long-period comets, so NASA says the Voyagers have not left the solar system yet. Even at 17 km/s, NASA estimates that Voyager 1 will take about 300 years to reach the inner edge of the Oort cloud and possibly 30,000 years to pass beyond it. In about 38,000 years it will pass within about 1.7 light-years of a faint star called AC+79 3888.

Follow Voyager 1 in the 3D orrery

Questions

Where is Voyager 1 now?

In late 2026 it is about 173 AU (26 billion km) from Earth, farther than any other spacecraft, and leaving the solar system at about 17 km/s, 35° above the plane of the planets, towards the constellation Ophiuchus. The live figures at the top of this page update every minute.

When is Voyager 1 one light-day from Earth?

On Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 10:16 UTC (5:16 am EST), according to NASA. At that moment it is 25.9 billion km from Earth, the distance light travels in 24 hours, so a radio signal takes a full day to make the trip.

When does a radio signal first take a full day?

Earth and the spacecraft both move while a signal is on its way, so it depends which way the signal goes. According to JPL Horizons, a command sent from Earth after about 18:25 UTC on 17 November takes more than 24 hours to reach Voyager 1, and signals picked up on Earth from about 02:18 UTC on 19 November have been a full day on the way.

Will Voyager 1 ever come back within one light-day?

No. From late January to late April each year Earth moves towards Voyager 1 faster than the spacecraft moves away, so the distance between them shrinks for a few months. But the 2027 dip only gets down to about 173.3 AU, just beyond one light-day, and every later dip is farther out.

How fast is Voyager 1 going?

About 17 km/s, or 61,000 km/h, relative to the Sun. That carries it about 3.6 AU (530 million km) farther out every year.

Is Voyager 1 still working?

Yes, but its plutonium power supply produces about 4 watts less each year, so heaters and most of its science instruments have been switched off to keep it going. NASA says it could stay within reach of the Deep Space Network until about 2036, power permitting.

Has Voyager 1 left the solar system?

It left the heliosphere, the bubble of solar wind around the Sun, on 25 August 2012, so it is in interstellar space. But the Sun’s gravity reaches much farther, out through the Oort cloud, so by NASA’s definition it has not left the solar system yet. NASA estimates it will take about 300 years to reach the Oort cloud’s inner edge and possibly 30,000 years to pass beyond it.

Where is Voyager 2 now?

In late 2026 it is about 144 AU (21.6 billion km) from the Sun, heading south of the plane of the planets towards the constellation Pavo at about 15 km/s. It left the heliosphere on 5 November 2018, is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune, and should be one light-day from Earth around November 2035.

Can you see Voyager 1 with a telescope?

Not in visible light. It is a few metres across and billions of kilometres away, far too small and faint for any optical telescope. Its radio signal can be picked up, though: NASA’s Deep Space Network tracks it with its largest dishes, and other big radio telescopes have detected it too, such as the Very Long Baseline Array in 2013.

Sources