Spacecraft escaping the Solar System
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This page shows the current positions and other interesting data of the five spacecraft which are leaving the Solar System on escape trajectories - our first emissaries to the stars. On this scale, the nearest star to the Sun would be approximately 100 meters away, and it would take Voyager 1 about 70,000 years to cover that distance.
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View from 90° above ecliptic plane
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View from 10° above ecliptic plane
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| Pioneer 10 | Pioneer 11 | Voyager 2 | Voyager 1 | New Horizons | Distance from Sun (AU) | 120.962 | 99.755 | 117.433 | 142.053 | 41.365 | Speed relative to Sun (km/s) | 11.955 | 11.255 | 15.347 | 16.982 | 14.140 | Speed relative to Sun (AU/year) | 2.522 | 2.374 | 3.238 | 3.582 | 2.983 | Ecliptic latitude | 3° | 14° | -36° | 35° | 2° | Declination | 25° 54' | -8° 42' | -57° 50' | 12° 24' | -20° 24' | Right ascension | 5h 9m | 18h 52m | 20h 3m | 17h 14m | 19h 13m | Constellation | Taurus | Scutum | Pavo | Ophiuchus | Sagittarius | Distance from Earth (AU) | 121.848 | 99.163 | 117.020 | 141.311 | 40.805 | One-way light time (hours) | 16.89 | 13.75 | 16.22 | 19.59 | 5.66 | Brightness of Sun from spacecraft (Magnitude) | -16.3 | -16.7 | -16.4 | -15.9 | -18.6 | Spacecraft still functioning? | no | no | yes | yes | yes | Launch date | 1972-Mar-03 | 1973-Apr-06 | 1977-Aug-20 | 1977-Sep-05 | 2006-Jan-19 |
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