Observed arrival · 2026-11-12
Solar System Explorer’s date-controlled orrery
An interactive orrery plots the eight planets for dates from 1800 to 2050, alongside distances, light-travel times, elongations, and observing guidance.
- For
- Amateur astronomers planning planetary observing
- Worth noticing
- The constellation column uses a bundled Horizons table covering 2026-11-01 to 2028-12-31; outside that window it stays empty.
Field notes
The page separates an evenly spaced schematic from true-scale views, including a Mercury-to-Mars option intended to keep the inner planets legible. Its ledger pairs distance in astronomical units with light-travel time, elongation, constellation, and a plain-language visibility label; the page explains how east or west elongation relates to evening or morning viewing. Constellation entries rely on a bundled Horizons table covering 2026-11-01 through 2028-12-31, while the stated orbital-element range is 1800–2050.
Observed signals
Read the marks
Editorial observations of this landing page, not a rating.
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