Solar System Simulator · Spacecraft · live
Where is Voyager 2 right now?
In interstellar space since 2018. Launched 20 August 1977 by NASA.
Worked out for Fri, Oct 23, 2026 (UTC) from JPL Horizons.
What Voyager 2 is doing
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four giant planets: Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. On 5 November 2018 it crossed the heliopause, where the Sun's wind gives way to interstellar space, six years after its twin.
What happens next
It coasts outward at about 15 km/s with no more targets. Its power dwindles a little every year, and NASA switches instruments off one by one to keep it talking into the late 2020s; its signal takes most of a day to arrive.
Timeline
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1977 | Launch |
| 9 Jul 1979 | Jupiter flyby |
| 25 Aug 1981 | Saturn flyby |
| 24 Jan 1986 | Uranus flyby |
| 25 Aug 1989 | Neptune flyby |
| 5 Nov 2018 | Interstellar space |
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 Voyager 2 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 Voyager 2 right now?
Voyager 2 is 144.3 AU from the Sun, 21.6 billion km (13.4 billion mi), and 144.4 AU from Earth. Light from it takes 20.0 hours to reach us.
How far is Voyager 2 from Earth?
144.4 AU, 21.6 billion km (13.4 billion mi) from Earth today, so a radio signal takes 20.0 hours each way.
Is Voyager 2 in interstellar space?
Yes, since 5 November 2018. Voyager 1 crossed in August 2012.
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.