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Real-time exploration of the solar system
Explore, navigate and visualize the solar system in our 3D exploration.
Composition of the solar system
The solar system is the planetary system of the sun, it is composed of 8 planets that orbit it with their moons.
Four of these planets (Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars) are telluric (rocky) and the other four (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are gaseous.
The sun alone contains 99.85% of the total mass of the solar system and dominates it gravitationally.
Between Mars and Jupiter, there is the asteroid belt (the main belt) composed of billions of asteroids not aggregated into planets. Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper belt which, like the asteroid belt, is composed of remnants of the solar system's formation.
Position of the planets in real time
The planets gravitate around the Sun in the same direction as its rotation, which is counterclockwise from above the north pole.
Click on a planet to observe its position in real time or visit our page ephemeris
You can also move forward or backward in time (-3 years in the past and +3 years in the future) and measure the distance between two planets. For this, use the arrows and commands placed on the dashboard.
Heliocentric planetary positions
The coordinates are given in the barycentric heliocentric reference frame, expressed in astronomical units (AU).
Inclination, rotation and revolution of the planets
In addition to revolving around the Sun, the planets also rotate on themselves. They rotate for the most part in the same direction as around the Sun except for some like Venus which turns in the opposite direction of its revolution.
Observe the real-time rotation of the Earth in our exploration and visualize which areas are illuminated by the Sun and which areas are in the night.
Or access the unique planet animations:
- Mercure
- Inclination of the planet : 0.0352° | Inclination of the orbit : 7° | Rotation period : 58,6458 jours | Revolution period : 87.969
- Vénus
- Inclination of the planet : 177.36° | Inclination of the orbit : 3.39471° | Rotation period : -243,023 jours | Revolution period : 224.667
- Terre
- Inclination of the planet : 23.4366907752° | Inclination of the orbit : 0° | Rotation period : 23h 56min 4s | Revolution period : 365.256363
- Mars
- Inclination of the planet : 25.19° | Inclination of the orbit : 1.85° | Rotation period : 24,622962 h | Revolution period : 686.885
- Jupiter
- Inclination of the planet : 3.12° | Inclination of the orbit : 1.304° | Rotation period : 9h 55min 27,3s | Revolution period : 4332.01
- Saturne
- Inclination of the planet : 26.73° | Inclination of the orbit : 2.486° | Rotation period : 10h 33min | Revolution period : 10754
- Uranus
- Inclination of the planet : 97.8° | Inclination of the orbit : 0.77323° | Rotation period : -17,23992 h | Revolution period : 30698
- Neptune
- Inclination of the planet : 28.32° | Inclination of the orbit : 1.77° | Rotation period : 16h 6,6min | Revolution period : 60216.8
For more observations and activities, see our astronomical observations page :
Astronomical observations