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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Space Probes » 

Parker Solar Probe

Altitude: -22.7°   Azimuth: 61.7°   Direction: East-North-East

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 Pisces, at a distance of 210,736,786 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of Parker Solar Probe in Pisces on March,19 2024
Map showing Parker Solar Probe in Pisces on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Parker Solar Probe is 23h 54m 42s and the Declination is -01° 38’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt).

23h 54m 42s
-01° 38’ 37”
Pisces

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

Azimuth: 91.6°
Max altitude: 37.1°
Azimuth: 268.7°

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

Parker Solar Probe Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of Parker Solar Probe
Map showing Parker Solar Probe in Pisces on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

Parker Solar Probe
RA: 23h 54m 42s
Dec: -01° 38’ 37”
Deep sky finder chart for Parker Solar Probe
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 210,736,786 kilometers, equivalent to 1.408688 Astronomical Units. Light takes 11 minutes and 42.9423 seconds to travel from Parker Solar Probe and arrive to us.

210,736,786
1.408688
11 minutes and 42.9423 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Parker Solar Probe 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 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:

Mon Aug 19 2024
42,102,964
0.281441

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!

Orbit Diagram of Parker Solar Probe

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 Mar 12 23h 25m 08s -05° 04’ 22” N.A. Aquarius
2024 Mar 13 23h 28m 58s -04° 38’ 15” N.A. Aquarius
2024 Mar 14 23h 32m 53s -04° 11’ 21” N.A. Aquarius
2024 Mar 15 23h 36m 53s -03° 43’ 41” N.A. Aquarius
2024 Mar 16 23h 41m 00s -03° 15’ 08” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 17 23h 45m 12s -02° 45’ 39” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 18 23h 49m 32s -02° 15’ 08” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 19 23h 53m 59s -01° 43’ 31” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 20 23h 58m 36s -01° 10’ 40” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 21 00h 03m 20s -00° 36’ 25” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 22 00h 08m 17s -00° 00’ 42” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 23 00h 13m 23s +00° 36’ 39” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 24 00h 18m 42s +01° 15’ 53” N.A. Pisces
2024 Mar 25 00h 24m 14s +01° 57’ 10” N.A. Pisces