The solar system, to scale
Explore the Sun, eight planets, thirteen moons and four spacecraft, with sizes and distances shown on the same scale.
Most solar-system diagrams enlarge the planets so you can see them alongside their orbits. This visualisation preserves their relative sizes and the distances between them. Planets can be difficult to spot from far away, giving you a sense of how much space separates them.
Select a destination to travel there automatically, or use the thrust control to explore for yourself.
You can also speed up time to watch planets rotate and moons move around their orbits. Try visiting Jupiter to follow its moons, or Uranus to see how its tilted axis affects its rotation. The clock runs at up to 10,000 times normal speed, accelerating all these motions together.
The background stars reproduce the familiar constellations. Planetary positions are calculated using an approximation based on data from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The clock is limited to 1800–2050, the range supported by that approximation.