Parker Solar Probe
The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft designed to study the Sun and its atmosphere. It was launched on August 12, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is currently orbiting the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit that takes it closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft. The mission objectives of the Parker Solar Probe are to study the structure and dynamics of the Sun's corona, the Sun's magnetic field, and the solar wind. To achieve this, the probe will make a total of 24 close approaches to the Sun over the course of its mission, getting as close as 3.83 million miles from the Sun's surface, which is about 7 times closer than any previous spacecraft. By studying the Sun up close, the Parker Solar Probe aims to improve our understanding of space weather and its effects on Earth, as well as providing new insights into the fundamental processes that govern stars in the universe.
Parker Solar Probe is currently in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 196,607,257 kilometers from Earth.
View interactive star map
Today's rise, transit and set times of Parker Solar Probe from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- Parker Solar Probe is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Parker Solar Probe is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Parker Solar Probe?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Parker Solar Probe in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Parker Solar Probe Distance from Earth
The distance of Parker Solar Probe from Earth is currently 196,607,257 kilometers, equivalent to 1.314238 Astronomical Units. Light takes 10 minutes and 55.8112 seconds to travel from Parker Solar Probe and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Parker Solar Probe from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Parker Solar Probe from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Parker Solar Probe to Earth
Between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024, the closest approach of Parker Solar Probe to Earth happens on Mon Aug 19 2024 at a distance of 0.281441 Astronomical Units, or 42,102,964 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Visualization of Parker Solar Probe Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Parker Solar Probe with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Parker Solar Probe and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
Parker Solar Probe 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Parker Solar Probe computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Parker Solar Probe in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 26 | 00h 24m 41s | +01° 03’ 02” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 00h 26m 52s | +01° 15’ 20” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 00h 29m 04s | +01° 27’ 57” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 00h 31m 20s | +01° 40’ 55” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 00h 33m 39s | +01° 54’ 12” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 May 01 | 00h 36m 01s | +02° 07’ 49” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 May 02 | 00h 38m 26s | +02° 21’ 42” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 May 03 | 00h 40m 51s | +02° 35’ 54” | N.A. | Cetus |
| 2024 May 04 | 00h 43m 22s | +02° 50’ 25” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 May 05 | 00h 45m 54s | +03° 05’ 12” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 May 06 | 00h 48m 28s | +03° 20’ 17” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 May 07 | 00h 51m 06s | +03° 35’ 40” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 May 08 | 00h 53m 45s | +03° 51’ 21” | N.A. | Pisces |
| 2024 May 09 | 00h 56m 30s | +04° 07’ 19” | N.A. | Pisces |