Live · Uranus

How far is Uranus from Earth right now?

Centre-to-centre distance from Earth to Uranus, updated in this browser. Uranus is so far that Earth’s entire orbit shifts the distance by only about a fifth.

See Uranus in 3DAll distances

Computing the distance from your device’s clock…

Why the distance changes

Uranus orbits at about 19 AU. NASA’s Uranus Fact Sheet lists the distance from Earth as 2,580.6 million km to 3,153.5 million km, about a 22% swing. The near end is opposition and the far end is conjunction. Week to week, the live number creeps rather than jumps.

The calculation is the JPL 3000 BC–3000 AD element set on the distance table. JPL’s nominal distance error for Uranus is about 8 million km. Light takes about 2.4 hours at the near end and about 2.9 hours at the far end. At its brightest Uranus is about magnitude 5.4, and about 5.6 at a typical opposition: the edge of naked-eye vision under a dark sky. The visible-tonight page treats it as context, not a promise you can see it.

Other distances

Back to every body on the distance table. The same clock also fills these pages:

• Sun
• Moon
• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• Pluto

Frequently asked questions

How far is Uranus from Earth right now?

The figure is the centre-to-centre distance at the time shown, from JPL’s approximate Keplerian elements for 3000 BC–3000 AD. The nominal distance error for Uranus is about 8 million km. It is not a Horizons ephemeris.

How much does the distance to Uranus vary?

NASA’s Uranus Fact Sheet lists 2,580.6 million km at minimum and 3,153.5 million km at maximum. Earth’s whole orbit is small beside Uranus at 19 AU, so the swing is about 22%.

Can you see Uranus without a telescope?

Sometimes, and only just. NASA lists a maximum apparent magnitude of about 5.4, at the limit of naked-eye vision from a dark sky. Most people need binoculars. Elongation on the visible-tonight page does not guarantee you can see it.

How long does light from Uranus take to arrive?

About 2.4 hours at 2,580.6 million km and about 2.9 hours at 3,153.5 million km. The live figure uses the current distance and 299,792.458 km/s.

Sources: JPL Approximate Positions of the Planets · NASA Uranus Fact Sheet for the 2,580.6 and 3,153.5 million km range and the magnitude.