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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:24
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Space Probes » 

Voyager 1

Altitude: 20.5°   Azimuth: 96.1°   Direction: East

Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, to study the outer Solar System and beyond. It is currently the most distant human-made object from Earth, having traveled over 14 billion miles (23 billion kilometers) from the Sun. Voyager 1's mission has included flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, with the goal of studying their moons, rings, and magnetic fields. The probe is now traveling through the heliosheath, the outermost layer of the Sun's heliosphere, and is expected to enter interstellar space in the coming years. Voyager 1 carries a golden record that contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, in the event that it is ever encountered by extraterrestrial life.

Voyager 1 is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus, at a distance of 24,335,743,455 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of Voyager 1 in Ophiucus on March,28 2024
Map showing Voyager 1 in Ophiucus on March, 28 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Voyager 1 is 17h 16m 22s and the Declination is +12° 15’ 39” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt).

17h 16m 22s
+12° 15’ 39”
Ophiucus

Today's rise, transit and set times of Voyager 1 from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 77.7°
Max altitude: 50.8°
Azimuth: 282.3°
  • Voyager 1 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 20° above the horizon.
  • 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.

Additional Resources

Voyager 1 Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of Voyager 1
Map showing Voyager 1 in Ophiucus on March, 28 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Voyager 1 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Voyager 1
RA: 17h 16m 22s
Dec: +12° 15’ 39”
Deep sky finder chart for Voyager 1
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Voyager 1?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Voyager 1 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Voyager 1 Distance from Earth

The distance of Voyager 1 from Earth is currently 24,335,743,455 kilometers, equivalent to 162.674397 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22 hours, 32 minutes and 55.3025 seconds to travel from Voyager 1 and arrive to us.

24,335,743,455
162.674397
22 hours, 32 minutes and 55.3025 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Voyager 1 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.

Chart of the distance of Voyager 1 from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 Voyager 1 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Voyager 1 to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2099, the closest approach of Voyager 1 to Earth happens on Mon Apr 22 2013 at a distance of 123.348498 Astronomical Units, or 18,452,672,648 kilometers:

Mon Apr 22 2013
18,452,672,648
123.348498

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Visualization of Voyager 1 Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Voyager 1 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Voyager 1 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!

Orbit Diagram of Voyager 1

Voyager 1 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Voyager 1 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Voyager 1 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 21 17h 16m 23s +12° 13’ 59” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 22 17h 16m 23s +12° 14’ 11” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 23 17h 16m 23s +12° 14’ 24” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 24 17h 16m 23s +12° 14’ 36” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 25 17h 16m 23s +12° 14’ 48” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 26 17h 16m 23s +12° 15’ 02” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 27 17h 16m 23s +12° 15’ 15” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 28 17h 16m 22s +12° 15’ 27” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 29 17h 16m 22s +12° 15’ 39” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 30 17h 16m 21s +12° 15’ 51” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Mar 31 17h 16m 21s +12° 16’ 04” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Apr 01 17h 16m 21s +12° 16’ 17” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Apr 02 17h 16m 19s +12° 16’ 28” N.A. Ophiucus
2024 Apr 03 17h 16m 19s +12° 16’ 41” N.A. Ophiucus