The Solar System, right now
Eight planets, eight calendars. See where each one is this minute, how long its days and years last, and how old you would be there.
Live heliocentric positions on 12 Oct 2026, 12:00 UTC. Directions are true; distances are squeezed so all eight orbits fit.
Where the planets are now
Positions come from NASA JPL's approximate orbital elements for 1800–2050, solved for this exact second in your browser. "Light time" is how old the light you'd see from each planet is right now — Neptune appears as it was hours ago.
| Planet | From the Sun | From Earth | Light time | Heliocentric longitude | In our sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.435 AU | 1.001 AU | 8.3 min | 301.1° | — |
| Venus | 0.726 AU | 0.295 AU | 2.5 min | 11.8° | — |
| Earth | 0.998 AU | — | — | 18.8° | — |
| Mars | 1.572 AU | 1.584 AU | 13.2 min | 91.0° | — |
| Jupiter | 5.308 AU | 5.776 AU | 48.0 min | 132.1° | — |
| Saturn | 9.431 AU | 8.444 AU | 70.2 min | 11.3° | — |
| Uranus | 19.434 AU | 18.728 AU | 155.8 min | 62.8° | — |
| Neptune | 29.877 AU | 28.920 AU | 240.5 min | 2.7° | — |
How old are you on other planets?
Your age anywhere is just the time you've been alive divided by that planet's year. On Mercury you'd have a birthday every 88 days; on Neptune nobody born since its discovery in 1846 has reached their first.
Days and years across the Solar System
A planet's sidereal day is one spin against the stars; its solar day is sunrise to sunrise, which is what a calendar would count. On most planets they're close. On Mercury and Venus they are wildly different, and on Venus the day is longer than the year.
| Planet | Spin (sidereal day) | Solar day | Year | Axial tilt | Calendar oddity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 58.65 days | 175.94 days | 87.97 days | 0.03° | One solar day lasts two of its years |
| Venus | 243.02 days (backwards) | 116.75 days | 224.70 days | 177.4° | The Sun rises in the west; under two sunrises a year |
| Earth | 23 h 56 m 4 s | 24 h | 365.256 days | 23.44° | The one our calendar is built on |
| Mars | 24 h 37 m 23 s | 24 h 39 m 35 s | 686.98 days | 25.19° | Seasons of 142 to 194 sols |
| Jupiter | 9 h 55 m 30 s | 9 h 55 m 33 s | 11.86 years | 3.13° | About 10,500 days in a year; barely any seasons |
| Saturn | 10 h 33 m 38 s | 10 h 33 m 38 s | 29.46 years | 26.73° | Day length measured from ripples in its rings (2019) |
| Uranus | 17 h 14 m 52 s (backwards) | 17 h 14 m 52 s | 84.02 years | 97.77° | Each pole gets 42 years of daylight, then 42 of night |
| Neptune | 16 h 6 m 36 s | 16 h 6 m 36 s | 164.8 years | 28.32° | Completed its first orbit since discovery in 2011 |
Uranus's day was re-measured with Hubble in 2025 at 17 h 14 m 52 s, 28 seconds longer than the Voyager 2 figure from 1986. Gas giants have no surface, so their "day" is defined by the rotation of their magnetic fields or interiors.
The planet calendar: oppositions 2026–2028
At opposition an outer planet sits opposite the Sun in our sky: it rises at sunset, is up all night, and is at its brightest. It's the best night of the year to look at it.
| Date | Planet | Distance from Earth |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan 2026 | Jupiter | 4.23 AU · 633 million km |
| 26 Sep 2026 | Neptune | 28.88 AU · 4,320 million km |
| 4 Oct 2026 | Saturn | 8.43 AU · 1,262 million km |
| 25 Nov 2026 | Uranus | 18.44 AU · 2,758 million km |
| 11 Feb 2027 | Jupiter | 4.36 AU · 652 million km |
| 19 Feb 2027 | Mars | 0.68 AU · 101 million km |
| 28 Sep 2027 | Neptune | 28.87 AU · 4,319 million km |
| 18 Oct 2027 | Saturn | 8.33 AU · 1,246 million km |
| 30 Nov 2027 | Uranus | 18.37 AU · 2,749 million km |
| 12 Mar 2028 | Jupiter | 4.44 AU · 664 million km |
| 30 Sep 2028 | Neptune | 28.86 AU · 4,318 million km |
| 30 Oct 2028 | Saturn | 8.23 AU · 1,232 million km |
| 3 Dec 2028 | Uranus | 18.31 AU · 2,739 million km |
How big is the Solar System, in time?
Distances in space are easiest to feel as light travel time. Sunlight takes about 3 minutes to reach Mercury, 8 minutes 20 seconds to reach Earth, 43 minutes to Jupiter and just over 4 hours to Neptune. The farthest thing we've built, NASA's Voyager 1 (launched 5 September 1977), is about to pass a milestone: one light-day from Earth, roughly 25.9 billion km, on 18 November 2026.
A command sent then will take 24 hours to arrive, and the reply another 24.
Frequently asked questions
How old would I be on Mars?
Divide your age in Earth years by 1.881 — Mars takes 686.98 Earth days to orbit the Sun. A 30-year-old is about 15.9 in Mars years. Use the calculator above for every planet, including your next birthday on each.
Which planet has the longest day?
Venus. One spin takes 243 Earth days, longer than its 225-day year, and it spins backwards. Its sunrise-to-sunrise day is 116.75 Earth days. Mercury's solar day is even longer, at about 176 Earth days.
Which planet has the shortest day?
Jupiter, at about 9 hours 56 minutes.
What is a planet's opposition?
The moment an outer planet is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. It is then visible all night and at its closest and brightest for the year.
How far away is Voyager 1?
In November 2026 Voyager 1 reaches one light-day — about 25.9 billion km — from Earth, the first human-made object to do so.