Where is Solar Orbiter right now?

Orbital Radar tracks Solar Orbiter in real time from NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris data, showing its live distance from Earth and the Sun, current speed and one-way signal delay, updated every 60 seconds. ESA's Sun-observing mission — studying the solar poles and inner heliosphere from inside Mercury's orbit.

How far is Solar Orbiter from Earth?

Solar Orbiter's distance from Earth changes constantly as both bodies move through the solar system. The live figure — in kilometres and astronomical units (AU), with the matching light-travel (signal) time — is shown at the top of this page and refreshes automatically.

LIVE — JPL HORIZONS

🌞 Solar Orbiter

ESA's Sun-observing mission — studying the solar poles and inner heliosphere from inside Mercury's orbit.

🏢 ESA·🎯 Sun·📅 Launched 2020-02-10·⚡ Active

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Seeing the Sun's Poles

Solar Orbiter is ESA's mission to study the Sun from inside Mercury's orbit, with a focus on the previously unobserved polar regions. Using Venus gravity assists to increase its orbital inclination, it will eventually achieve views exceeding 30° — crucial for understanding the Sun's magnetic cycle.

Surviving the Heat

At closest approach (0.28 AU), Solar Orbiter's heat shield endures temperatures up to 520°C. It carries 10 instruments — six remote-sensing imagers and four in-situ particle/field detectors.