Putting the planets where they are tonight…

Every planet, moon, dwarf planet and spacecraft here is drawn where it really is right now, worked out from NASA JPL orbit data. Run time forwards or backwards with the bar at the bottom.

The Sun and planets

  • Sun
  • Mercury
  • Venus
  • Earth
  • Mars
  • Jupiter
  • Saturn
  • Uranus
  • Neptune

Dwarf planets

  • Ceres
  • Pluto
  • Haumea
  • Makemake
  • Eris

Moons

  • Moon
  • Phobos
  • Deimos
  • Io
  • Europa
  • Ganymede
  • Callisto
  • Mimas
  • Enceladus
  • Tethys
  • Dione
  • Rhea
  • Titan
  • Iapetus
  • Miranda
  • Ariel
  • Umbriel
  • Titania
  • Oberon
  • Triton
  • Charon

Belts

  • Asteroid Belt
  • Kuiper Belt

Spacecraft

  • Voyager 1
  • Voyager 2
  • New Horizons
  • Pioneer 10
  • Pioneer 11

Fall inside

  • Inside the Sun
  • Inside Mercury
  • Inside Venus
  • Inside Earth
  • Inside Mars
  • Inside Jupiter
  • Inside Saturn
  • Inside Uranus
  • Inside Neptune
  • Inside the Moon
  • Inside Europa
  • Inside Titan
Right now · live
A moon of Saturn ↑

Enceladus

A tiny ice moon spraying its hidden ocean into space.

Enceladus is only 500 km wide, about the width of Arizona. It is the brightest, whitest world in the solar system.

In 2005 the Cassini spacecraft saw jets of ice and water vapour shooting out of cracks near its south pole.

They come from an ocean under the ice. Cassini later flew right through the spray and tasted salt, simple carbon chemicals and hints of warm vents on the seafloor.

Some of that spray drifts off to form one of Saturn's rings.

With water, energy and the building blocks of life, Enceladus is one of the most exciting places anywhere to look for life.

If you stood here

Fresh snow from the geysers would sparkle all around you, with giant Saturn and its rings overhead.

The numbers

Width
504 km
Goes round Saturn
every 33 hours
One day
The same: it always shows Saturn one face
Temperature
about −200 °C, warmer at the south pole
70 kg on Earth weighs
806 grams here
Quick answers+

How big is Enceladus?

Enceladus is 504 km wide, about 4% of Earth's width.

How long does Enceladus take to go round Saturn?

Enceladus goes once round Saturn every 33 hours. It spins once in the same time, so it always shows Saturn the same face.

How hot or cold is Enceladus?

About −200 °C, warmer at the south pole.

What is the gravity like on Enceladus?

Gravity is 0.113 m/s², 1% of Earth's. Someone who weighs 70 kg on Earth would weigh 806 grams there.