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 Jupiter ↑

Io

The most volcanic place in the solar system.

Io is the most volcanic place in the solar system. It has more than 400 active volcanoes, some throwing plumes 400 km into space.

The heat comes from squeezing. Jupiter's gravity, tugged against by the moons Europa and Ganymede, flexes Io's rock back and forth until it melts.

Its yellows, oranges and reds come from sulfur. Io looks like a pizza, and some scientists have said so.

Galileo Galilei found it in January 1610, along with Jupiter's three other big moons. They were the first moons ever found going round another planet.

If you stood here

Jupiter would fill a huge part of your sky, and the ground under your feet rises and falls by up to 100 metres every day.

The numbers

Width
3,643 km
Goes round Jupiter
every 42 hours
One day
The same: it always shows Jupiter one face
Temperature
−130 °C on the plains · over 1,200 °C in the lava
70 kg on Earth weighs
13 kg here
Quick answers+

How big is Io?

Io is 3,643 km wide, about 29% of Earth's width.

How long does Io take to go round Jupiter?

Io goes once round Jupiter every 42 hours. It spins once in the same time, so it always shows Jupiter the same face.

How hot or cold is Io?

−130 °C on the plains, and over 1,200 °C in the lava.

What is the gravity like on Io?

Gravity is 1.796 m/s², 18% of Earth's. Someone who weighs 70 kg on Earth would weigh 13 kg there.