30-Day Map Challenge / Day 07 / 10 minute map

Ten Minutes of Sunlight

Light leaving the Sun reaches Earth in about eight minutes. Ten minutes on, it has passed us and is still short of Mars.

Map of the inner solar system on 7 November 2026: the Sun at center, the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, dotted rings one light-minute apart, and a vermilion ring marking ten minutes of light travel. Mercury, Venus and Earth lie inside it; Mars lies outside.

Sun to planet, 7 November 2026

Mercury2 min 35 s
Venus6 min 00 s
Earth8 min 15 s
Mars13 min 19 s

Positions from JPL approximate Keplerian elements (Standish), orbits drawn flat in the ecliptic. One light-minute is 17,987,547 km. Code and method.