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Explore our solar system, discover planets around other stars, and place known planetary systems on an interactive galaxy map. Data from NASA, JPL and other astronomical organisations, brought together for curious minds, classrooms and researchers. Free to browse, with no account required.

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Object of the day page: Pluto
Dwarf planet

Pluto

(134340) Pluto

Diameter
2,376 km
Distance
39.589 AU
Orbital period
249.1 years
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Next close approach

The next catalogued asteroid or comet passing within 10 lunar distances of Earth.

All close approaches

2026 TC6

Passes in 20 hours 52 minutes

Time (UTC)
Local time
Shown from this device’s time zone when the browser can read it.
Miss distance
9.8 LD 3,766,610 km
Relative speed
10.2 km/s
Approximate size
about 16 m–36 m

1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Nominal distance; uncertainties vary by object and orbit solution. Source: JPL close-approach data in the catalogue snapshot. Estimated from absolute magnitude H = 26.09, assuming a visual albedo between 0.05 and 0.25. This is not a measured diameter.

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 TC6 at 2026-10-12 03:50 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-12 03:50 UTC close approach of 2026 TC6. Catalogue miss distance 9.80 LD · 3.77 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-09 to 2026-10-15. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit and a ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. Sun 9.80 LD · 3.77 × 10⁶ km 2026-10-12 03:50 UTC Earth Moon

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-12 03:50 UTC close approach of 2026 TC6. Catalogue miss distance 9.80 LD · 3.77 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-09 to 2026-10-15. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit and a ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate.

JPL Horizons

1,576,416
solar-system objects
8
planets
492
moons
1,563,472
asteroids
4,080
comets

Catalogue last refreshed 2 hours ago.

Browse by kind

Planets

8

The eight worlds of the Sun, from scorched Mercury to deep-blue Neptune.

Dwarf planets

10

Ceres, Pluto and the icy worlds of the outer system.

Moons

492

Hundreds of natural satellites, from Luna to the shepherd moons of Saturn.

Asteroids

1,563,472

Rocky remnants of the early solar system, including the near-Earth objects.

Comets

4,080

Icy visitors on long, looping orbits — Halley and its many cousins.

Trans-Neptunian

8,353

The Kuiper Belt, scattered disc and the centaurs beyond Neptune.