Solar System Simulator · Spacecraft · live
Where is JWST right now?
At the Sun–Earth L2 point, 1.5 million km behind Earth. Launched 25 December 2021 by NASA, ESA and CSA.
Worked out for Fri, Oct 23, 2026 (UTC) from JPL Horizons.
What JWST is doing
The James Webb Space Telescope does not orbit Earth. It circles the Sun–Earth L2 point, 1.5 million km beyond Earth on the side away from the Sun, in a wide halo orbit that keeps it out of Earth's shadow so its sunshield can hold the telescope near −230 °C. It moves with Earth around the Sun, so its distance from us stays between about 1.3 and 1.8 million km.
What happens next
Its fuel for holding station at L2 should last 20 years or more. It has been observing since July 2022.
Timeline
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| 25 Dec 2021 | Launch |
| 4 Jan 2022 | Sunshield unfolded |
| 8 Jan 2022 | Mirror unfolded |
| 24 Jan 2022 | Arrives at L2 |
| 12 Jul 2022 | First images |
What the simulator does
- Open the Now tab: the clock jumps to this minute and pauses, and every probe is drawn where JPL Horizons puts it, among the planets where they really are.
- Pick JWST and the view centres on it; the compressed distance scale keeps even the Voyagers in the frame.
- The positions come from JPL's tables, refreshed every day; the planets come from the simulator's own physics on today's date.
Questions people ask
Where is JWST right now?
JWST is 1.52 million km (947,173 mi) from Earth, at the Sun–Earth L2 point, and 1.00 AU from the Sun. Light from it takes 5 seconds to reach us.
How far is JWST from Earth?
1.52 million km (947,173 mi) from Earth today, so a radio signal takes 5 seconds each way.
How far away is JWST?
About 1.5 million km, four times the distance to the Moon; it rides along with Earth around the Sun.
How is its position worked out?
From JPL Horizons, NASA's ephemeris service, which tracks every spacecraft from its radio signals. This site keeps a table of positions a few days apart and reads today's from it; the page is rendered for the day it is served.
Keep going
The distances come from JPL Horizons, refreshed daily; the map and the simulator place the planets with the site's own physics.