Solar Orbiter — spacecraft, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.
This ESA/NASA probe swoops inside Mercury’s orbit to capture the closest images of the Sun ever taken — and the first-ever views of its poles.
Cosmoscope draws Solar Orbiter on its real trajectory, from mission ephemeris rather than an artist's impression. Open the live 3D view to see where Solar Orbiter is right now, how far it has travelled from the Sun, and how long its radio signal takes to reach Earth. Scrub the timeline to replay the route that took it there.