Visualizing Distance in Our Solar System

10bn km 11bn km 12bn km 12.56 bn km Termination shock 11.6 hours "Wind' of electrically charged particles becomes denser, hotter and slower 13bn km 14bn km 14.72bn km Voyager 2 probe 15bn km 16bn km 17bn km 17.94bn km Voyager 1 probe Farthest man-made object 19bn km 20bn km 21bn km 21.24bn km End of heliosphere 19.7 hours You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system, a distance of more than 21 billion kilometres. It would take you 22 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable Universe, another 435 sextillion kilometers (435 followed by 21 zeros, or 46 billion light years) away. We think we'll stop here. Live long and prosper. Everything in space is moving constantly, and distances are variable and dynamic over wide ranges. In most cases, we have given average distances for simplicity's sake. For planets, we have given minimum distances - the closest the planets come to Earth over the course of their orbits. Other distances (termination shock, heliopause) are uncertain and estimates are given. Some distances, particularly the location of probes and other man-made spacecraft, are based on time-specific readings taken in early March 2012. Travel times are based on travelling in a straight line. Spacecraft rarely do this in practice. Object sizes are not to scale. Information is Beautiful Studio 10bn km 11bn km 12bn km 12.56 bn km Termination shock 11.6 hours "Wind' of electrically charged particles becomes denser, hotter and slower 13bn km 14bn km 14.72bn km Voyager 2 probe 15bn km 16bn km 17bn km 17.94bn km Voyager 1 probe Farthest man-made object 19bn km 20bn km 21bn km 21.24bn km End of heliosphere 19.7 hours You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system, a distance of more than 21 billion kilometres. It would take you 22 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable Universe, another 435 sextillion kilometers (435 followed by 21 zeros, or 46 billion light years) away. We think we'll stop here. Live long and prosper. Everything in space is moving constantly, and distances are variable and dynamic over wide ranges. In most cases, we have given average distances for simplicity's sake. For planets, we have given minimum distances - the closest the planets come to Earth over the course of their orbits. Other distances (termination shock, heliopause) are uncertain and estimates are given. Some distances, particularly the location of probes and other man-made spacecraft, are based on time-specific readings taken in early March 2012. Travel times are based on travelling in a straight line. Spacecraft rarely do this in practice. Object sizes are not to scale. Information is Beautiful Studio 10bn km 11bn km 12bn km 12.56 bn km Termination shock 11.6 hours "Wind' of electrically charged particles becomes denser, hotter and slower 13bn km 14bn km 14.72bn km Voyager 2 probe 15bn km 16bn km 17bn km 17.94bn km Voyager 1 probe Farthest man-made object 19bn km 20bn km 21bn km 21.24bn km End of heliosphere 19.7 hours You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system, a distance of more than 21 billion kilometres. It would take you 22 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable Universe, another 435 sextillion kilometers (435 followed by 21 zeros, or 46 billion light years) away. We think we'll stop here. Live long and prosper. Everything in space is moving constantly, and distances are variable and dynamic over wide ranges. In most cases, we have given average distances for simplicity's sake. For planets, we have given minimum distances - the closest the planets come to Earth over the course of their orbits. Other distances (termination shock, heliopause) are uncertain and estimates are given. Some distances, particularly the location of probes and other man-made spacecraft, are based on time-specific readings taken in early March 2012. Travel times are based on travelling in a straight line. Spacecraft rarely do this in practice. Object sizes are not to scale. Information is Beautiful Studio 10bn km 11bn km 12bn km 12.56 bn km Termination shock 11.6 hours "Wind' of electrically charged particles becomes denser, hotter and slower 13bn km 14bn km 14.72bn km Voyager 2 probe 15bn km 16bn km 17bn km 17.94bn km Voyager 1 probe Farthest man-made object 19bn km 20bn km 21bn km 21.24bn km End of heliosphere 19.7 hours You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system, a distance of more than 21 billion kilometres. It would take you 22 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable Universe, another 435 sextillion kilometers (435 followed by 21 zeros, or 46 billion light years) away. We think we'll stop here. Live long and prosper. Everything in space is moving constantly, and distances are variable and dynamic over wide ranges. In most cases, we have given average distances for simplicity's sake. For planets, we have given minimum distances - the closest the planets come to Earth over the course of their orbits. Other distances (termination shock, heliopause) are uncertain and estimates are given. Some distances, particularly the location of probes and other man-made spacecraft, are based on time-specific readings taken in early March 2012. Travel times are based on travelling in a straight line. Spacecraft rarely do this in practice. Object sizes are not to scale. Information is Beautiful Studio 10bn km 11bn km 12bn km 12.56 bn km Termination shock 11.6 hours "Wind' of electrically charged particles becomes denser, hotter and slower 13bn km 14bn km 14.72bn km Voyager 2 probe 15bn km 16bn km 17bn km 17.94bn km Voyager 1 probe Farthest man-made object 19bn km 20bn km 21bn km 21.24bn km End of heliosphere 19.7 hours You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system, a distance of more than 21 billion kilometres. It would take you 22 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable Universe, another 435 sextillion kilometers (435 followed by 21 zeros, or 46 billion light years) away. We think we'll stop here. Live long and prosper. Everything in space is moving constantly, and distances are variable and dynamic over wide ranges. In most cases, we have given average distances for simplicity's sake. For planets, we have given minimum distances - the closest the planets come to Earth over the course of their orbits. Other distances (termination shock, heliopause) are uncertain and estimates are given. Some distances, particularly the location of probes and other man-made spacecraft, are based on time-specific readings taken in early March 2012. Travel times are based on travelling in a straight line. Spacecraft rarely do this in practice. Object sizes are not to scale. Information is Beautiful Studio