Mercury — planet, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.
The smallest planet and the fastest, skimming the Sun at 47 km/s. With almost no atmosphere to hold heat, its days scorch and its nights freeze — the widest temperature swing in the solar system.
Cosmoscope puts Mercury at its true position in the solar system, computed from JPL-derived ephemeris and updated continuously. Open the live 3D view to see, in real time, how far Mercury is from the Sun and from Earth right now, how many minutes or hours light takes to cross that gap, and how fast it is moving along its orbit. Scrub the timeline to place Mercury where it was on any past date, or where it will be years from now.