Pick a real spacecraft, a published laser-sail mission concept, or light itself, then drag the time slider to see how far each one gets toward Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest star.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom on the scene above. The distance line between the Sun and Proxima Centauri is a schematic straight line only - it is not drawn to true light-year scale.
For the star system itself rather than the journey there, see the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer. For the two real Voyager probes' own real positions since 1977, see the Voyager Interstellar Position 3D Explorer.
Interstellar Travel Timescales 3D Explorer
Pick a vehicle in this browser explorer and drag the time slider to see how many years - or human generations - it takes to reach Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest star, at each vehicle's real or published speed.
Proxima Centauri is about 4.246 light-years from the Sun (roughly 268,000 times the Earth-Sun distance). Light itself, the fastest anything can travel, takes about 4.25 years to cross that gap. Voyager 1, humanity's fastest and most distant real spacecraft, cruises at roughly 17 km/s relative to the Sun - at that speed, covering the distance to Proxima Centauri would take about 75,000 years; Voyager 1 is not headed there and was never designed to be, so this is a what-if timescale, not a mission plan. The Breakthrough Starshot mission concept proposes laser-driven light sails accelerated to roughly 0.2 times the speed of light (about 59,958 km/s) - a concept that has not been built or flown. At that speed the one-way trip would take about 20 years, and a radio signal sent back after arrival would need a further roughly 4.25 years of light-travel time to reach Earth.
- Vehicle picker switches between Voyager 1, the Breakthrough Starshot concept, and light itself, each with its own real or published transit time
- Time slider (log scale, 1 year to 100,000 years) moves that vehicle's marker along the distance line and updates the facts panel with elapsed years, percent of the way there, remaining light-years, and a generation count using a common 25-year-per-generation convention
- A comparison table ranks all three vehicles' speed and one-way transit time side by side, with the active one highlighted
- The Breakthrough Starshot concept's panel also shows the extra signal-lag time a reply radio message needs once the sail arrives
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Vehicle | Speed | One-way transit time to Proxima Centauri |
|---|---|---|
| Voyager 1 (real spacecraft) | about 17 km/s | about 75,000 years |
| Breakthrough Starshot concept | about 0.2c (about 59,958 km/s) | about 20 years, plus ~4.25 years signal lag for a reply |
| Light itself | exactly 299,792.458 km/s | about 4.25 years |
For the Proxima Centauri star system itself - its planets and habitable-zone band - rather than the journey there, open the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer. For the two real Voyager probes' own measured positions and heliopause-crossing dates since their 1977 launch, see the Voyager Interstellar Position 3D Explorer.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation - the distance line between the Sun and Proxima Centauri is a schematic straight line only, not drawn to true light-year scale (the real distance is about 268,000 AU); the traveling marker moves at a constant on-screen rate implied by the slider against each vehicle's real transit time, not a thrust, acceleration, or relativistic-time-dilation simulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far away is Proxima Centauri?
Proxima Centauri is about 4.246 light-years from the Sun, roughly 268,000 times the Earth-Sun distance (NASA/ESO published distance figures).
How long would it take Voyager 1 to reach Proxima Centauri?
About 75,000 years, at Voyager 1's real cruising speed of roughly 17 km/s relative to the Sun. Voyager 1 is not headed toward Proxima Centauri and was never designed to be - this is a what-if timescale, not a mission plan.
What is the Breakthrough Starshot concept?
A published mission concept - not a built or flown spacecraft - proposing laser-driven light sails accelerated to roughly 0.2 times the speed of light. At that speed, the one-way trip to Proxima Centauri would take about 20 years.
How long would a message take to get back after a Starshot sail arrives?
A radio signal travels at the speed of light, so a reply sent from Proxima Centauri after the sail's roughly 20-year journey would need a further roughly 4.25 years (light-travel time) to reach Earth.
How long does light itself take to reach Proxima Centauri?
About 4.25 years - light is the fastest anything can travel, so this is the shortest possible one-way transit time.
What is a "generation count" in the facts panel?
Elapsed years divided by 25 years per generation, a common demographic convention - not a measured physical constant. It gives a human-scale sense of how long a journey would span.
Is the distance line on screen to true scale?
No. The line between the Sun and Proxima Centauri is a schematic straight line only, not drawn to true light-year scale - the real distance is about 268,000 AU, far too large to show proportionally next to a visible Sun and Proxima marker.
Where do these figures come from?
NASA/ESO published distance figures for Proxima Centauri, NASA/JPL Voyager mission speed and status pages, the published Breakthrough Starshot mission concept parameters, and the SI definition of the speed of light (299,792.458 km/s).