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Mars remains our horizon goal for human exploration because it is one of the only other places we know where life may have existed in the solar system. What we learn about the Red Planet will tell us more about our Earth’s past and future, and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet. Like the Moon, Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and a driver of technologies that will enable humans to travel and explore far from Earth.

33 million to 249 million miles from Earth (always changing)

Miles(roundtrip)

-284 degrees F to 86 degrees F

Six Technologies to Get Humans to Mars

NASA is advancing many technologies to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. Here are six things we are working on right now to make future human missions to the Red Planet possible.

Preparing for Mars

Engineers and scientists around the country are working to develop the technologies astronauts will use to one day live and work on Mars and safely return home to Earth.

Quick Facts

Periodic dust storms on Mars can last for months, making nuclear fission power a more reliable option than solar power. 

Temperatures on Mars can range from -284 degrees F to 86 degrees F. The atmosphere on Mars is 96% carbon dioxide.

One day on Mars lasts about 37 minutes longer than an Earth day. A year on Mars is almost twice as long as a year on Earth.

Gravity on Mars is about one-third of the gravity on Earth. If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.

Mars has two moons: Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is 13.8 miles across, and Deimos is 7.8 miles across.

Getting There and Back

When astronauts travel to Mars and back, their vehicle will return home with more than a billion miles on its odometer — more than a thousand times the distance that Artemis I traveled.

Living and Working on Mars

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, is helping NASA prepare for human exploration of Mars by demonstrating the technology to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for burning fuel and breathing.

Astronauts on a roundtrip mission to Mars will not have the resupply missions to deliver fresh food. NASA is researching food systems to ensure quality, variety, and nutritional values for these long missions. Plant growth on the International Space Station is helping to inform in-space crop management as well.

NASA is developing life support systems that can regenerate or recycle consumables such as food, air, and water and is testing them on the International Space Station.

Like we use electricity to charge our devices on Earth, astronauts will need a reliable power supply to explore Mars. The system will need to be lightweight and capable of running regardless of its location or the weather on the Red Planet. NASA is investigating options for power systems, including fission surface power.

Spacesuits are like “personal spaceships” for astronauts, protecting them from harsh environments and providing all the air, water, biometric monitoring controls, and communications needed during excursions outside their spaceship or habitat.

Communications

Human missions to Mars may use lasers to stay in touch with Earth. A laser communications system at Mars could send large amounts of real-time information and data, including high-definition images and video feeds.

An astronaut's primary shelter on Mars could be a fixed habitat on the surface or a mobile habitat on wheels. In either form, the habitat must provide the same amenities as a home on Earth — with the addition of a pressurized volume and robust water recycling system.

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Together with our partners, we will pioneer Mars and answer some of humanity’s fundamental questions: Was Mars home to microbial life? Is it today? Could it be a safe home for humans one day? What can it teach us about life elsewhere in the cosmos, or how life began on Earth? What can it teach us about Earth’s past, present, and future?

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The cruise phase begins after the spacecraft separates from the rocket, soon after launch. The spacecraft departs Earth at a speed of about 24,600 mph (about 39,600 kph). The trip to Mars will take about seven months and about 300 million miles (480 million kilometers). During that journey, engineers have several opportunities to adjust the spacecraft’s flight path, to make sure its speed and direction are best for arrival at Jezero Crater on Mars. The first tweak to the spacecraft’s flight path happens about 15 days after launch.

Track the Spacecraft's Flight

The trip to mars.

• Checking spacecraft health and maintenance
• Monitoring and calibrating the spacecraft and its onboard subsystems and instruments
• Performing attitude correction turns (slight spins to keep the antenna pointed toward Earth for communications, and to keep the solar panels pointed toward the Sun for power)
• Conducting navigation activities, such as trajectory correction maneuvers, to determine and correct the flight path and train navigators before atmospheric entry. The last three correction maneuvers are scheduled during approach.
• Preparing for entry, descent, and landing (EDL) and surface operations , a process which includes tests of communications, including the communications to be used during EDL.

The mission is timed for launch when Earth and Mars are in good positions relative to each other for landing on Mars. That is, it takes less power to travel to Mars at this time, compared to other times when Earth and Mars are in different positions in their orbits. As Earth and Mars orbit the Sun at different speeds and distances, once about every 26 months, they are aligned in a way that allows the most energy-efficient trip to Mars.

Fine-Tuning the Flight Path to Mars

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How Long Does It Take to Get to Mars?

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All eyes are on the red planet lately. Thanks to a number of missions in the past few years – including the Perseverance Rover that touched down Feb. 22, 2021 – Mars is increasingly interesting to astronomers, astrophysicists and future astronauts. NASA plans to put astronauts on Mars in the future, and Elon Musk keeps claiming he'll do it first , but before we strap in and blast off, it helps to know exactly how long it takes to get to there.

Mars completes one turn around the sun every 687 Earth days . This means that the distance between Earth and Mars changes every day, and the two planets are aligned closely to one another roughly every 26 months . Additionally, because both Earth and Mars have elliptical orbits (and Mars' is more elliptical than Earth's), some of our close approaches are closer than others. The most recent notable close approach was Oct. 6, 2020, when Mars was just 38.57 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from Earth.

So how long does it take to travel the almost 40 million miles to Mars? That depends on your speed. For example, the Perseverance rover traveled at a speed of about 24,600 mph (about 39,600 kph) and the journey took seven months , but that's because of where the Earth and Mars were at the time Perseverance was launched and where they were when it landed. If you could travel as fast as the New Horizons spacecraft (which is famous for visiting Pluto back in 2015), you could potentially reach Mars in as little as 39 days depending on the alignment of the planets and the 36,000 mph (58,000 kph) speed that New Horizons reached. Historically, spacecraft have taken anywhere between 128 days (Mariner 7 on a flyby) and 333 days (Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander, the second U.S. landing on Mars) .

Since no human has traveled to Mars yet, we don't have exact numbers on how fast it's possible to go – because remember, you need to slow down as you get closer to Mars. The best estimates are that human missions to Mars will be timed to take advantage of a good planetary alignment. Most estimates put the travel time in the range of 150-300 days – that's five to 10 months – and the average is usually around seven months , just like the Perseverance rover.

The two fastest travel times from Earth to Mars are for the Viking 6 and Viking 7 spacecraft, which took 155 and 128 days respectively . Both of these spacecraft were on flyby missions to image Mars, so they didn't need to slow down as they approached Mars as orbiters, landers and rovers need to do.

Frequently Answered Questions

Why can we only go to mars every 2 years.

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Preparing for “Earth to Earth” space travel and a competition with supersonic airliners

Commercial spaceflight companies are preparing to enter a new market: suborbital flights from one place to another on Earth. Aiming for fast transportation for passengers and cargo, these systems are being developed by a combination of established companies, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and new ones like Astra.

Technical and business challenges lie ahead for this new frontier, and an important piece is the coming wave of supersonic aircraft which could offer safer but slower alternatives to spaceflight. These two different approaches could face off in the 2020s to be the future of transportation on Earth.

(Lead image via Mack Crawford for NSF/L2)

Suborbital space travel

The most prevalent concept for suborbital Earth to Earth transportation comes from none other than Elon Musk and SpaceX . Primarily designed for transporting large payloads to Mars for the purpose of colonization, the next generation Starship launch system offers a bonus capability for transporting large amounts of cargo around Earth.

Musk first presented this idea in 2017, envisioning suborbital spaceflights between spaceports offshore from major cities. These launch and landing facilities would be far enough to reduce the disruption of rocket launch noise levels and sonic booms produced by landing vehicles, connected to land by a high speed form of transportation such as speedboats or a hyperloop.

Originally, these Earth to Earth flights were expected to use both stages of the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) rocket, since evolved and renamed to the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster. In 2019, Musk revealed that these suborbital flights could instead utilize only the Starship vehicle with no booster, achievable for distances of approximately 10,000 kilometers or less. In order to meet thrust requirements, a single stage suborbital Starship would include an additional two to four Raptor engines .

Given the inherent danger of rocket powered space travel, the Starship system will complete many, possibly hundreds of flights before flying passengers, with the first Earth to Earth test flights beginning as early as 2022 .

Another side effect of the Starship Mars architecture, which requires that methane be captured from Martian resources to refuel spacecraft and return to Earth, is that the same propellant production processes can be used on Earth to make Starship operations carbon neutral.

The idea of carbon neutrality, removing as much carbon from the atmosphere as is emitted by the system, is a crucial part of ensuring that future transportation systems do not contribute to the harmful effects of climate change. Musk has confirmed that carbon neutrality is an important goal of the Starship program.

SpaceX is not the only major commercial spaceflight company with a suborbital transportation concept. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic also has a vision of space travel around Earth. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon flying astronauts to Low Earth Orbit, and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo flying crew on suborbital trajectories above the official American boundary of space at 80 kilometers altitude, are the only two commercial companies actively flying humans to space today. A successor to SpaceShipTwo is planned that could provide trans-continental spaceflights for passengers.

A bit of an Easter Egg from Richard Branson. Talking about a global network of spaceports, trans-continental supersonic space flights, delivering passengers anywhere on the world within a couple of hours. pic.twitter.com/WBZ6xvsfPO — Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) May 10, 2019

While no technical details of a “SpaceShipThree” have been announced by Virgin Galactic, it is fairly likely that the vehicle would be air launched, similar to the SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplanes. SpaceShipThree was originally intended to be a orbital vehicle, developed jointly by Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites.

Scaled Composites was the manufacturer of SpaceShipOne, the first private crewed spacecraft which won the Ansari X Prize by completing two crewed spaceflights using a reusable spacecraft in 2004. Scaled Composites also built the first SpaceShipTwo, the VSS Enterprise, as well as the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircrat VMS Eve, before jointly founding The Spaceship Company with Virgin Group. Scaled Composites is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman , and The Spaceship Company currently manufactures SpaceShipTwo vehicles for Virgin Galactic.

While the name SpaceShipThree has not been mentioned recently, plans for a suborbital point-to-point transportation system are still planned by Virgin Galactic. Branson has mentioned a successor to SpaceShipTwo that can provide trans-continental spaceflights as recently as 2019. No timeline for test flights or commercial operations with this system have been announced yet.

For both of these systems, it is possible that suborbital cargo transportation could precede passenger flights as a way of proving the reliability of the vehicles. One company has no intention of flying people, but is pursuing suborbital spaceflight as a cargo transportation market: the smallsat launch company Astra .

Astra Rocket 3.2 launches from Kodiak, Alaska, in December 2020 – via Astra/John Kraus

Astra recently launched their second orbital launch attempt , Rocket 3.2, which came up just short of achieving orbit for the first time in Astra’s history. The company is expected to achieve orbit with a paying customer payload on board Rocket 3.3 in 2021.

For suborbital transportation, Astra has proposed an upgrade to the Rocket 3 family, named Rocket 5. The first stage of Rocket 5 would be identical to that on Rocket 3. The second stage would be similar to the first stage, except with a single engine instead of five. The final stage of Rocket 5 would be the same as Rocket 3’s upper stage. This vehicle could be available for suborbital cargo deliveries no earlier than 2022.

The Competition: Supersonic Airliners

While multiple suborbital transportation concepts proceed through development, several supersonic aircraft designs are also expected to debut, creating competition for the market of high speed transportation around the planet.

One such entrant is Boom Supersonic, which rolled out the XB-1 prototype aircraft in November 2020. The XB-1 will reach supersonic speeds during test flights which will inform the design of a supersonic airliner named Overture. Flight tests are expected to begin in 2021 in Mojave, California. The XB-1 has three General Electric J85-15 engines, from the same family of engines which power NASA’s T-38 Talon training aircraft and powered the WhiteKnightOne carrier aircraft which air-launched SpaceShipOne.

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 Demonstrator Aircraft – via Boom Supersonic

The Overture airliner is planned to roll out by 2025, and be operational by 2029, carrying up to 88 passengers at ranges up to approximately 7,870 kilometers. The aircraft will be powered by a to-be-determined engine provided by Rolls-Royce. Both the XB-1 test program and the Overture airliner are planned to be carbon neutral.

Orders for the Overture from both Japan Airlines and the Virgin Group have been announced. It is unclear whether the Virgin Group orders are from Virgin Galactic, who did enter a partnership with Boom on Overture in 2016, or possibly the Virgin Atlantic airline.

Despite having their own suborbital design concept, Virgin Galactic is involved in the supersonic airline effort. While their partnership with Boom has not been promoted by either company recently, Virgin Galactic unveiled a partnership with Rolls-Royce for a Mach 3 capable aircraft in August 2020. The aircraft would have a passenger capacity of up to 19 people.

Concept render of Virgin Galactic’s Mach 3 airliner – via Virgin Galactic

Another offeror in the market is Aerion Supersonic, developing their AS2 Supersonic Business Jet. Aerion recently broke ground on a new headquarters at Melbourne International Airport, just south of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base on Florida’s space coast.

The AS2 jet is a partnership with Boeing and General Electric, and is designed to carry up to 10 passengers at speeds up to Mach 1.4 over open water. The AS2 would be flown closer to Mach 1.2 near land to mitigate the intensity of sonic booms, or subsonic if required. Historically, disturbances on the ground from sonic booms have contributed to the retirement of Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation’s Concorde and the hesitation from other companies to pursue supersonic air travel.

Technical and Financial Challenges

The ideas of hypersonic suborbital space travel and subsonic atmospheric flight vary in their approaches to a similar problem, but also face some common challenges. Both methods do produce sonic booms, which can disrupt people living on the ground and, in extreme cases, cause damage or injuries. Supersonic aircraft produce sonic booms along the entire flight path, with varying intensities depending on speed, altitude, and the geometry of the aircraft. Rockets, on the other hand, only cause sonic booms to be heard during landing, as the shockwaves created during launch move upwards, away from any observers that could hear them.

In order to better understand the effects of sonic booms from aircraft, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division is developing the X-59 QueSST (Quiet Supersonic Technology) for NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Program. The X-59 is uniquely shaped to decrease the intensity of the supersonic shockwave so as not to disturb populated areas while flying overhead.

Render of the X-59 QueSST aircraft – via NASA

Powered by a General Electric F414 engine, the same as is used in the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, Lockheed Martin test flights are scheduled to begin in 2021, followed by delivery to NASA in 2022. The goal of the Low-Boom program is to collect data on the volume of sonic booms in order to inform legislation on approving supersonic air travel over populated areas. X-59 flights to contribute towards this mission begin in 2023, in addition to flights already underway using NASA’s F/A-18 fleet.

Sonic booms are not the only noise concern with these new methods of travel. Rockets produce potentially dangerous noise levels during launch, especially those on the scale of Starship. SpaceX plans to solve this by launching and landing far offshore from population centers, which means using a slower form of transportation to travel between the spaceport and the destination city.

Large rockets like Starship, especially if the Super Heavy booster is used, also have large blast danger areas in the event of a catastrophic anomaly while fully fueled. However, before flying commercial passengers, the Starship system will need to prove reliability comparable to that of present day airliners. This will surely include demonstrating a negligible risk of such an anomaly occurring. The Starship launch system also has no in-flight abort capability in the event that the Super Heavy booster or Starship’s Raptor propulsion system fails during flight, a risk that will need to be retired by flying many missions with only cargo on board, including both space missions and Earth to Earth test flights.

Another safety advantage winged aircraft have over propulsively landed rockets is the ability to glide in the event of an engine failure. Both these new supersonic airliners and spaceplane concepts like SpaceShipThree would be able to glide towards a controlled emergency landing during an emergency. This was recently demonstrated during Virgin Galactic’s most recent SpaceShipTwo flights, when VSS Unity glided back to the runway at Spaceport America after aborting during engine ignition . Vehicles which rely on their engines to land safely, such as Starship, do not have this contingency.

Looking past the important but solvable technical issues, the business case for faster Earth travel also remains to be proven. The costs of space launches and the limited capacity on upcoming supersonic airliners will likely mean higher ticket prices than today’s subsonic aircraft. The appeal of shorter travel times will need to outweigh the increased price.

An aspect of tourism may also come into play, as some travelers book travel not as commuters, but just to experience high speed air travel or suborbital spaceflight. However, this brings in even more competition from systems designed for suborbital space tourism, such as Blue Origin ‘s New Shepard rocket or Virgin Galactic’s own SpaceShipTwo. Orbital space tourism on board SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Starship vehicles may also draw customers away from the suborbital options.

Suborbital spaceflight offers faster travel times than supersonic airliners, arriving anywhere on Earth in under an hour versus a couple hours on an aircraft. But space travel also offers additional challenges for safety and for noise levels on the ground. The key to systems like Starship being successful for Earth to Earth transportation will be proving the same level of safety as an airliner. If this can be done, than a combination of spaceflight and high speed airliners may be the future of travel around humanity’s home planet.

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Want to travel to Mars? Here’s how long the trip could take.

Nuclear engines or not, you're gonna need a lot of PTO to get to the Red Planet.

By Eva Botkin-Kowacki | Published Feb 21, 2023 6:00 AM EST

Despite what Star Trek’s warp-speed journeys would have us believe, interplanetary travel is quite the hike. Take getting to Mars. Probes sent to the Red Planet by NASA and other space agencies spend about seven months in space before they arrive at their destination. A trip for humans would probably be longer—likely on the timescale of a few years. 

There are a lot of things that a human crew needs to survive that robots don’t, such as food, water, oxygen, and enough supplies for a return—the weight of which can slow down a spacecraft. With current technology, NASA calculations estimate a crewed mission to Mars and back, plus time on the surface , could take somewhere between two and three years. “Three years we know for sure is feasible,” says Michelle Rucker, who leads NASA’s Mars Architecture Team in the agency’s ​​ Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate .

But NASA aims to shorten that timeline, in part because it would make a Mars mission safer for humans—we still don’t know how well the human body can withstand the environment of space for an extended period. (The record for most consecutive days in space is 437.) The agency is investing in projects to develop new propulsion technologies that might enable more expeditious space travel. 

A crooked path to Mars

In a science-fictional world, a spacecraft would blast off Earth and head directly to Mars. That trajectory would certainly make for a speedier trip. But real space travel is a lot more complicated than going from point A to point B.

“If you had all the thrust you want, you could ignore the fact that there happens to be gravity in our universe and just plow all the way through the solar system,” says Mason Peck , a professor of astronautics at Cornell University who served as NASA’s chief technologist from 2011 to 2013. “But that’s not a scenario that’s possible right now.”

Such a direct trajectory has several challenges. As a spacecraft lifts off Earth, it needs to escape the planet’s gravitational pull, which requires quite a bit of thrust. Then, in space, the force of gravity from Earth, Mars, and the sun pulls the spacecraft in different directions. When it is far enough away, it will settle into orbit around the sun. Bucking that gravity requires fuel-intensive maneuvers.

[Related: Signs of past chemical reactions detected on Mars ]

The second challenge is that the planets do not stay in a fixed place. They orbit the sun, each at its own rate: Mars will not be at the same distance from Earth when the spacecraft launches as the Red Planet will be, say, seven months later. 

As such, the most fuel-efficient route to Mars follows an elliptical orbit around the sun, Peck says. Just one-way, that route covers hundreds of millions of miles and takes over half a year, at best. 

But designing a crewed mission to the Red Planet isn’t just about figuring out how fast a spacecraft can get there and back. It’s about “balance,” says Patrick Chai, in-space propulsion lead for NASA’s Mars Architecture Team . “There are a whole bunch of decisions we have to make in terms of how we optimize for certain things. Where do we trade performance for time?” Chai says. “If you just look at one single metric, you can end up making decisions that are really great for that particular metric, but can be problematic in other areas.”

One major trade-off for speed has to do with how much stuff is on board. With current technology, every maneuver to shorten the trip to Mars requires more fuel. 

If you drive a car, you know that in order to accelerate the vehicle, you step on the gas. The same is true in a spacecraft, except that braking and turning also use fuel. To slow down, for instance, a spacecraft fires its thrusters in the opposite direction to its forward motion.

But there are no gas stations in space. More fuel means more mass on board. And more mass requires more fuel to propel that extra mass through the air… and so on. Trimming a round-trip mission down to two years is when this trade-off starts to become exponentially less efficient, Rucker says. At least, that’s with current technology.

New tech to speed up the trip

NASA would like to be able to significantly reduce that timeline. In 2018, the space agency requested proposals for technological systems that could enable small, uncrewed missions to fly from Earth to Mars in 45 days or less . 

At the time, the proposals didn’t gain much traction. But the challenge inspired engineers to design innovative propulsion systems that don’t yet exist. And now, NASA has begun to fund the development of leading contenders. In particular, the space agency has its eye on nuclear propulsion.

Spacecraft currently rely largely on chemical propulsion. “You basically take an oxidizer and a fuel, combine them, and they combust, and that generates heat. You accelerate that heated product through a nozzle to generate thrust,” explains NASA’s Chai. 

Engineers have known for decades that a nuclear-based system could generate more thrust using a significantly smaller amount of fuel than a chemical rocket. They just haven’t built one yet—though that might be about to change.

One of NASA’s nuclear investment projects aims to integrate a nuclear thermal engine into an experimental spacecraft. The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations , or DRACO, program, is a collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and aims to demonstrate the resulting technology as soon as 2027 .

[Related: Microbes could help us make rocket fuel on Mars ]

The speediest trip to Mars might come from another project, however. This concept, the brainchild of researchers at the University of Florida and supported by a NASA grant, seeks to achieve what Chai calls the “holy grail” of nuclear propulsion: a combination system that pairs nuclear thermal propulsion with an electric kind. 

“We did some preliminary analysis, and it seems like we can get pretty close to [45 days],” says the leader of that project, Ryan Gosse, a professor of practice in the University of Florida’s in-house applied research program, Florida Applied Research in Engineering (FLARE). One caveat: That timeline is for a light payload and no humans on board. However, if the project is successful, the technology could potentially be scaled up in the future to support a crewed mission.

There are two types of nuclear propulsion, and both have their merits. Nuclear thermal propulsion, which uses heat, can generate a lot of thrust quickly from a small amount of fuel. Nuclear electric propulsion, which uses charged particles, is even more fuel-efficient but generates thrust much more slowly.

“While you’re in deep space, the electric propulsion is really great because you have all the time in the world to thrust. The efficiency, the miles per gallon, is far, far superior than the high-thrust,” Chai says. “But when you’re around planets, you want that oomph to get you out of the gravity well.”

The challenge, however, is that both technologies currently require different types of nuclear reactors, says Gosse. And that means two separate systems, which reduces the efficiency of having a nuclear propulsion system. So Gosse and his team are working to develop technology that can use the one system to generate both types of propulsion.

NASA’s Mars architecture team is also working with a bimodal concept that uses a chemical propulsion system to maneuver around planets and solar-powered electric propulsion to do the thrusting in deep space.

“What we are developing is different tools for the toolbox,” says NASA’s Rucker. “One tool isn’t going to be enough to do all of the exploration that we want to do. So we’re working on all of these.”

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World’s 30 Best Travel Destinations, Ranked

Best places to visit in the world.

The ultimate ranking of travel destinations aims to solve a serious problem: so many places to visit, so little time.

But even in a world with a trillion destinations, some manage to stand out and rise to the top. From the sleek skyscrapers of Dubai to the emerald-green waters of the Bora Bora lagoon, you’re sure to find at least one vacation that piques your interest (and likely several!).

These are the 30 best places to visit in the world. Which ones have you already been to? And which ones stoke your wanderlust most?

30. Argentine Patagonia

In this region of the Andes, you’ll find glaciers, evergreen trees, deep blue lakes and clear skies everywhere you look. For a trip full of adventure and discovery, there are few better destinations on the planet.

No trip is complete without a visit to the craggy Mount Fitz Roy, the historic (and mysterious) Cave of the Hands, the Punta Tombo wildlife preserve, the Peninsula Valdes marine wildlife refuge and the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier. Be sure to bring your camera and your sense of wonder.

* Rankings are based on U.S. News & World Report's " World's Best Places to Visit ," traveler ratings as well as our own editorial input.

What to Know Before You Go to Argentine Patagonia

Where to stay: Cyan Soho Neuquen Hotel

Hot tip: Since springtime occurs in the southern hemisphere in October and November, those months are your best bet when planning a trip.

Fun fact: The largest dinosaur fossils ever unearthed were found in Argentine Patagonia. They belong to the largest-known titanosaur, believed to have weighed about 83 tons. 

Note: We may earn money from affiliate partners if you buy through links on our site.

29. Amalfi Coast, Italy

Set in the Sorrentina Peninsula, the Amalfi Coast has long been renowned for its natural beauty and idyllic coastal towns. During the golden age of Hollywood, it was a preferred vacation spot for glamorous movie stars.

Days here are spent eating Italian food, drinking wine and walking around colorful cobblestone streets. You can also expect to drink copious amounts of wine as you look out into the Mediterranean Sea.

The best way to see the coast is to rent a car and then drive to different towns each day.

What to Know Before You Go to the Amalfi Coast

Where to stay: Hotel Marina Riviera

Hot tip:  If you're planning on using a beach chair to work on your tan, make sure you wake up early, as they are usually first come, first served.

Fun fact:  The Amalfi Coast is featured in Sofia Loren's 1995 Film, "Scandal in Sorrento."

28. Cancun, Mexico

For years, Cancun has been the preferred getaway for East Coast Americans (particularly Floridians) who want an international getaway that's still close to home. But despite the droves of tourists, the area has managed to keep the charm that attracted people in the first place.

The city is known mostly for its luxury hotels, wild nightlife and warm beaches. Definitely indulge in all of these — as well as the Mexican food! — but also consider other activities like visiting Mayan ruins, swimming in cenotes and snorkeling. One thing is certain: You won't run out of things to do in Cancun .

What to Know Before You Go to Cancun

Where to stay: Hyatt Zilara Cancun

Hot tip:  While you're in Cancun, make a plan to visit one of Grupo Xcaret's six eco-tourism parks, with the best ones being Xcaret and Xelha. The Mexican-owned company is credited with starting the eco-tourism trend in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the parks offer incredible and varied local experiences.

Fun fact:  The Yucatan Peninsula, where Cancun is located, was the cultural, political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Many locals have Mayan ancestry and Mayan continues to be widely spoken in the area.

27. San Francisco, California

Everyone should visit San Francisco at least once in their lives. Though tech companies grab all the headlines these days, it remains down-to-earth, diverse and packed with things to do.

Where to start? No matter your style, you’ll want to check out the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, see the sunbathing sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, take a tour of the historic prison Alcatraz and relax in one of the city’s many parks, especially Dolores Park for its epic people-watching on the weekends. 

For dinner, treat your tastebuds and make a reservation at one of the many Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area .

What to Know Before You Go to San Francisco

Where to stay: The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

Hot tip: Want similarly beautiful landscapes and rich cultural attractions, but at lower prices and with (slightly) fewer crowds? Head to Oakland just across the Bay Bridge, named one of the most exciting places on earth to travel by National Geographic. 

Fun fact: The fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese resident. Random!

26. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world . The power with which water storms down cliffs on the border between the United States and Canada has captivated the imagination of humans for centuries. 

This natural wonder is comprised of three awe-inspiring falls. One of the best ways to experience them is on a boat tour.

What to Know Before You Go to Niagara Falls

Where to stay: Sheraton Niagara Falls

Hot tip: There is some debate about which side of the falls is better, but the general verdict is that the Canadian side offers better views. This is because you can (ironically) get a better view of the American Falls as well as get up close to Horseshoe Falls. 

Fun fact:  Established in 1885, Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S.

25. Yellowstone National Park

Located mostly in Wyoming as well as Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone is America’s first national park and remains one of the most popular in the country, welcoming more than around 3.3 million people in 2022. With unpredictable geysers, rainbow-colored hot springs, craggy peaks, shimmering lakes and tons of wildlife — from elk to boars to bison — it’s easy to see why so many people flock here. 

The park makes for an awesome family trip and is well-suited to budget travelers since it offers so many campsites ( over 2,000! ). 

What to Know Before You Go to Yellowstone

Where to stay: Stage Coach Inn

Hot tip: You’ll never fully beat the crowds at this wildly popular park, but April, May, September and November are your best bets for finding some solitude.  

Fun fact: Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.  

24. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

As the largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of marine species. This makes it a paradise for scuba diving or snorkeling. 

The reef system is truly gigantic, with over 600 islands and about 2,900 individual reefs. This is one of Australia's greatest prides, but it's also a planetary national treasure. Seeing it with your own two eyes is an experience that is incredible beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to the Great Barrier Reef

Where to stay: Crystalbrook Flynn

Hot tip: Though going underwater to see the reef is a must, we also recommend booking a helicopter tour to experience the magic of it from above.

Fun fact:  Made of corals, which are animals that live in collectives, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet.

23. Santorini, Greece

With its picturesque blue-domed churches, whitewashed buildings and colorful beaches, the island of Santorini is a photographer’s paradise. If you want to snap photos to post to Instagram and make everyone back home jealous, this is the place to go. 

Also make sure to experience some of Santorini’s archaeologically significant sites, like Ancient Akrotiri (an ancient city preserved by volcanic ash) and Ancient Thera (where humans lived as early as the 9th century BC). And don’t forget to visit the smaller islands that surround it, including Thirassia, Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni. 

What to Know Before You Go to Santorini

Where to stay: Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Santorini

Hot tip: To optimize your vacation, visit in September and October or April and May — when the weather is still warm, but there aren’t as many other tourists milling around.

Fun fact: While it’s difficult to prove, locals like to say there’s more wine than water on this island where it hardly rains (and vino abounds).

22. Florence, Italy

For art and history buffs (and anyone who appreciates delicious Italian food), Florence is a must-visit city. 

As the birthplace of the Renaissance, it’s home to some of the most iconic artworks by the world’s premier artists throughout history — Michaelangelo, Brunelleschi and Donatello, just to name a few. In addition to art museums and architectural wonders, Florence is also home to chic shops, quaint cafes and spectacular gardens. 

What to Know Before You Go to Florence

Where to stay:  NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa

Hot tip: Keep Florence in mind if you want to spend your honeymoon in Europe without spending a fortune, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Fun fact: The city’s famed “El Duomo” cathedral took over 140 years to build .

21. Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite, one of the most-visited national parks in America with more than 4 million annual guests, encompasses 750,000 acres of wilderness just waiting to be explored.

It’s home to scenic waterfalls, like the 317-foot Vernal Fall and the 617-foot Bridalveil Fall, as well as iconic rock formations like El Capitan and Half Dome, two popular spots for the world’s best rock climbers to test their mettle.

Not surprisingly, the wildlife here also impresses. Dozens of species of butterflies, marmots, bobcats and mule deer are just some of the animals that call Yosemite home. And keep your eyes peeled for black bears; some 300 to 500 roam the park . 

What to Know Before You Go to Yosemite

Where to stay:  The Ahwahnee

Hot tip: Summer can get really busy here, so if you want to camp, be sure to book a spot early. Want to beat Yosemite’s notoriously bad traffic? Ditch the car and take advantage of the park’s extensive free bus system.

Fun fact: This is one of the only places in the country where you can catch a moonbow — like a rainbow, but created by the light of the moon instead of the sun. 

20. St. Lucia

Whether you’re visiting on a cruise ship or just relaxing at an all-inclusive resort or boutique hotel, stunning St. Lucia is a clear winner. This Caribbean island offers diverse terrain for vacationers, from its pristine beaches to its lush rainforests to its volcanic peaks, the Pitons, that loom over the landscape. 

Adrenaline-junkies love hiking, climbing and zip-lining, while newlyweds (and soon-to-be-married couples) enjoy the romantic mix of fine dining, adults-only resorts and exotic activities. 

What to Know Before You Go to St. Lucia

Where to stay: Rabot Hotel From Hotel Chocolat

Hot tip: Visit when temperatures are moderate, which is typically in May and June.

Fun fact: St. Lucia is the only country named after a woman: Christian martyr Saint Lucia of Syracuse.

19. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Everything is bigger and better in Dubai, home to one of the world’s largest shopping malls, tallest towers, largest man-made marinas — and the list goes on. 

This Las Vegas-like urban center in the United Arab Emirates has an eclectic mix of activities for visitors to enjoy, including beaches, waterparks, tons of shopping and even an indoor ski resort. Outside the skyscraper-filled city, the vast desert awaits, best enjoyed via quad-biking or sandboarding.

What to Know Before You Go to Dubai

Where to stay:  Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai

Hot tip: Though you’re likely to pay a pretty penny for a trip to Dubai no matter when you visit, you can save a little cash by visiting during the scalding-hot summer months and by booking your hotel room two to three months in advance.

Fun fact: Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands were constructed using enough imported sand to fill up 2.5 Empire State Buildings . 

18. Machu Picchu, Peru

Many travelers describe their visit to Machu Picchu as life-changing. Why? It’s an archaeological wonder, the remains of an ancient Incan city dating back more than 600 years. No wonder this is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most-visited attraction in all of Peru. 

Be sure to visit significant sites like Funerary Rock, where it’s believed Incan nobility were mummified, and Temple of the Condor, a rock temple sculpted to look like the impressive bird in its name.  

What to Know Before You Go to Machu Picchu

Where to stay: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Hot tip: If you’re planning a trip, be sure to get your ticket in advance, as only 2,500 people can visit Machu Picchu each day. (And a lot of people have this destination on their bucket list.)

Fun fact: The site contains more than 100 separate flights of stairs . 

17. Sydney, Australia

With its iconic Opera House and lively Bondi Beach, Sydney is the perfect spot to vacation if you’re looking for a blend of culture, arts, nightlife and relaxation. 

Spend the day on the water at Darling Harbour, then head to the Royal Botanic garden for even more fresh air. Want to travel like a local? Get a ticket to a rugby match and order a Tim Tam, a popular chocolate-covered cookie that pairs well with coffee. 

What to Know Before You Go to Sydney

Where to stay: Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Hot tip: You can make your trip more affordable by visiting during Sydney’s shoulder seasons, which are typically September through November and March through May.

Fun fact: In 2007, Bondi Beach was the site of the largest ever swimsuit photoshoot ; 1,010 bikini-clad women participated, enough to earn it a spot in the Guinness World Records book.

16. Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is truly massive (277 river miles long and up to 18 miles wide!), which helps explain why so many people feel the urge to see it in person. 

In 2022, 4.7 million people visited, making the Grand Canyon the second-most popular national park in the country (behind Great Smoky Mountain Nationals Park). Established in 1919, the park offers activities for all ability levels, whether you want to do an intense hike down into the canyon and sleep under the stars (with a backcountry permit, of course) or simply want to saunter along the South Rim Trail, an easy walking path with views that wow.

What to Know Before You Go to the Grand Canyon

Where to stay:  The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon

Hot tip: If you’ve wanted to visit the Grand Canyon for a while now, this is the year to do it. The park is celebrating its 100th birthday with musical performances, lectures, screenings and other special events.

Fun fact: The most remote community in the continental U.S. can be found in the Grand Canyon. At the base of the canyon, Supai Village — part of the Havasupi Indian Reservation — has a population of 208. It’s inaccessible by road, and mail is delivered by pack mule. Want to see it for yourself? The village houses a collection of campsites , accessible via a hiking trail.

15. Bali, Indonesia

In recent years, Bali has become a popular expat destination, where groups of "digital nomads" work and play. 

But the island hasn't lost its original charm to this added tourism and continues to be an incredible destination. Divide your time between swimming in the beach, hiking active volcanoes, visiting temples and enjoying views of tiered rice terraces.

What to Know Before You Go to Bali

Where to stay: Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach

Hot tip:  Though shoulder season (January to April and October to November) means fewer crowds and cheaper prices, it also means rain. Tons of it. We'd recommend avoiding the rainy season if possible.

Fun fact: On the Saka New Year, Balinese people celebrate Nyepi. This Hindu celebration is a day of silence when everything on the island shuts down and no noise is allowed.

14. New York, New York

As the saying goes, New York City is “the city that never sleeps” — and you won’t want to either when you visit, lest you run out of time to take it all in. 

Be sure to check out newer attractions, like the High Line (an elevated park) and Hudson Yards (a mega-mall along the Hudson River), but also make time for some New York City classics, like catching a Broadway show or standing under the lights of Times Square. 

Foodies will have a hard time choosing where to eat (the city is home to almost 100 Michelin stars !), which is why an extended trip is always a good idea.

What to Know Before You Go to New York City

Where to stay: The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel

Hot tip: Yes, January and February get cold here, but this is also the best time to lock in relatively reasonable hotel rates. You can spend your time eating in the city’s restaurants, exploring its fabulous museums and catching its world-class theater shows without needing to spend much time in the chilly outdoors. 

Fun fact: There’s a birth in New York City about every 4.4 minutes — and a death every 9.1 minutes. 

13. Banff National Park, Canada

Some of the world’s most stunning mountain scenery and vistas are located in Banff, the tiny Canadian town located at 4,537 feet above sea level inside the national park by the same name. Banff is the highest town in Canada, and Banff National Park was Canada’s first, established in 1885.

Shred some powder at Banff’s three ski resorts in the winter, then come back in the summer for activities like hiking, biking, fishing and scrambling (scaling steep terrain using nothing but your hands).

What to Know Before You Go to Banff

Where to stay: Fairmont Banff Springs

Hot tip: June to August and December to March are the best times to visit if you want to take advantage of summer and winter activities. 

Fun fact: Banff National Park has more than 1,000 glaciers.

12. Maldives

You can look at picture after picture, but you still really need to visit the Maldives to believe its beauty. If rich sunsets, flour-like beaches and vibrant blue waters are your style, this is the destination for you. 

Though it’s somewhat difficult to get to this small island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, that also means it’s incredibly private and secluded, which makes it the perfect spot for a honeymoon or romantic beach getaway. 

And don’t worry about getting bored, either — explore the water by snorkeling or scuba diving, relax in the spa or wander around the bustling Male’ Fish Market.

What to Know Before You Go to Maldives

Where to stay: Velassaru Maldives

Hot tip: May to October is the island-nation’s rainy season — but that also means it’s the best time to go for fewer crowds and better rates.

Fun fact: In 1153 AD, the nation’s people converted to Islam. Today, the Maldives remains the most heavily Muslim country on earth.

11. Barcelona, Spain

Soccer, architecture, shopping, nightlife, world-class food and wine, arts and culture — is there anything Barcelona doesn’t have? If there is, we honestly can't think what it would be. 

This cosmopolitan Spanish city is home to some awe-inspiring architecture, including several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi, so be sure to book tours of his whimsical creations like Park Guell and the yet-to-be-finished Church of the Sacred Family (La Sagrada Familia). 

For nightlife and shopping, Las Ramblas is always bustling; for an enriching arts experience, follow the progression of famed artist Pablo Picasso at Museo Picasso.

What to Know Before You Go to Barcelona

Where to stay:  Hotel Bagues

Hot tip: It can get really humid here, so it's best to plan your trip in May and June before things really heat up.

Fun fact: In preparation for its 1992 hosting of the Olympics, the city flew in sand from as far away as Egypt to make Barceloneta Beach a place where people would want to go. Though largely man-made, the beach remains a wonderful spot for seaside R&R. 

10. Glacier National Park, Montana

The crown jewel of beautiful Montana, Glacier National Park is every outdoors traveler's dream.

Of course, the most defining natural feature of the park are its glaciers, which provide spectacular views as well as a number of pristine lakes. There are hundreds of trails that will take you up peaks, down through valleys and across some of the most beautiful landscapes you'll ever see.

What to Know Before You Go to Glacier National Park

Where to stay: Firebrand Hotel

Hot tip:  Plan to spend a day or two in the nearby town of Whitefish. This gateway to Glacier National Park is one of the best small towns in America and a destination in its own right. 

Fun fact: During your visit, you're very likely to run into mountain goats, which are the official symbols of the park.

9. Tokyo, Japan

The Japanese capital is one of the most exciting cities on the entire planet. It is notoriously fast-paced, with neon lights illuminating the multitudes that are constantly rushing to their next destination. 

But Tokyo is also a city of temples, of taking time to picnic under the cherry blossoms and of making sure you enjoy the abundance of delicious food that can be found on basically every corner.

What to Know Before You Go to Tokyo

Where to stay: The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Hot tip: Visit between the months of March and April or September and November for more comfortable temperatures. Of course, spring is when the city's cherry blossoms are famously in full bloom.

Fun fact: Tokyo happens to be the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 40 million people calling the greater metro area home.

8. Phuket, Thailand

If you’re looking for a vacation destination that feels luxurious but won’t break the bank, start searching for flights to Phuket now. 

This island in southern Thailand, which is just an hour flight from Bangkok, is surrounded by the Andaman Sea, so white sandy beaches abound. If a stunning sunset is what you’re after, head to Promthep Cape, the southernmost point on the island and a popular spot for photo-ops. For views of the island and beyond, climb to the top of the massive alabaster statue called Big Buddha.

You can even learn something during your vacation by visiting the Soi Dog Foundation, an innovative animal shelter that’s fighting the meat trade and taking care of the thousands of stray cats and dogs in the area.

What to Know Before You Go to Phuket

Where to stay: InterContinental Phuket Resort

Hot tip: Visit between November and April for the best weather — and ideal conditions for beach activities like swimming and boating. 

Fun fact: The island is not pronounced in the rather colorful way it appears to be. The correct way to say it is “poo-ket” or “poo-get.”

7. Rome, Italy

Though Rome’s historic significance cannot be overstated, don’t assume that this Italian city is stuck in the past. On the contrary, you’ll find posh storefronts and luxurious hotels not far from iconic structures like the Pantheon (built in 120 AD) and the Colosseum (built in 80 AD).

And then, of course, there’s the city’s art. Stroll through Rome, and you’ll stumble upon some of the greatest treasures the world has ever seen — an astonishing collection of frescoes, paintings, ceilings and fountains created by icons like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Raphael and Bernini.

After all that exploration, take advantage of ample opportunities to eat and drink, including at several Michelin-starred restaurants. City staples include suppli (deep-fried balls of risotto, mozzarella and ragu meat sauce) and cacio e pepe (a deceptively simple mix of al-dente pasta, pecorino romano and fresh black pepper). 

What to Know Before You Go to Rome

Where to stay: Radisson Blu Ghr Hotel

Hot tip: Tourists congregate here in the summer when temperatures are also sweltering. Go instead between October and April, when there are thinner crowds, better rates and cooler temps. Just make sure to bring a light jacket.

Fun fact: Each year, travelers throw about $1.7 million worth of coins into the Trevi Fountain. The money is donated to Caritas, a Catholic nonprofit that supports charities focused on health, disaster relief, poverty and migration.

6. London, England

English writer Samual Johnson once said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” 

From live performances of Shakespeare to truly world-class (and free!) museums like the National Gallery, London will enrich your mind and enliven your senses. Of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at Buckingham Palace to see the famous stone-faced guards outside and the 19 lavish State Rooms inside (though, unfortunately, you can’t see the queen’s private quarters). Another must-see landmark is the Tower of London, the historic castle on the north side of the River Thames.

What to Know Before You Go to London

Where to stay: Vintry & Mercer

Hot tip: Many U.S. cities now offer direct flights to London, so set a price alert and act fast when you see fares drop.

Fun fact: London’s pubs are worth a visit for their names alone; fanciful monikers include The Case is Altered, The Pyrotechnists Arms, John the Unicorn and The Job Centre. 

5. Tahiti, French Polynesia

Flavorful French cuisine, top-notch resorts, warm waters — need we say more? Though Tahiti can be pricey, travelers say it’s so worth it. 

The largest of the 118 French Polynesian islands, Tahiti is split into two main regions (connected by a land bridge). Tahiti Nui, the larger region, is home to the island’s capital Papeete and surfing hotspot Papenoo Beach, while Tahiti Iti, the smaller region, offers more seclusion and the bright white sands of La Plage de Maui.

What to Know Before You Go to Tahiti

Where to stay: Hilton Hotel Tahiti

Hot tip: Visit between May and October, Tahiti’s winter, when there are less humidity and rain. 

Fun fact: Overcrowding is not a concern here; Hawaii gets more visitors in 10 days than all of French Polynesia does in a year.

4. Maui, Hawaii

If you’re short on time or you just can’t decide which Hawaiian island to visit, Maui is right in the sweet spot: not too big, not too small, but just right.

There are five regions to explore on Maui, including the popular West Maui and South Maui, home to some of the island’s best-known attractions and beaches (Wailea Beach is in South Maui, for example). But don’t overlook East Maui, where you can travel along the Road to Hana, or the Upcountry, where you can explore the world’s largest dormant volcano, Haleakala. 

What to Know Before You Go to Maui

Where to stay:  Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

Hot tip: This is Hawaii we’re talking about, so your trip will be on the pricey side. Be sure to budget for add-ons if you need them (think gym access and WiFi at your hotel), and do some research on insurance before you head to the car-rental counter.

Fun fact: How’s this for a selling point? Maui has more beach than any other Hawaiian island — 60 miles of it, with red, white and black sand.

3. Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Don’t write off the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora just because of its size. Though it’s a little more than 2 miles wide and just 6 miles long, Bora Bora packs in an abundance of natural beauty. To start, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the island’s turquoise lagoon surrounded by lush jungle.

If you’re looking for more than relaxation on your trip, consider hiking or booking a 4X4 tour of Mount Otemanu, part of an extinct volcano that rises 2,400 feet above the lagoon. You can also snorkel among the coral reef of Coral Gardens, where you might catch a glimpse of reef sharks, eels and stingrays.

Because of its remoteness, flying into Bora Bora Airport will be quite a journey, no matter where you're departing from. But you'll forget everything as soon as you see this Polynesian paradise that is beautiful beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to Bora Bora

Where to stay: Conrad Bora Bora Nui

Hot tip: Though Bora Bora can be wildly expensive to visit, you can cut costs by visiting between December and March (though you should avoid the Christmas holiday) and by bringing your own alcohol and sunscreen with you.

Fun fact: Bora Bora is one of the countries that no longer exists . The Kingdom of Bora Bora was an independent state until it was forcefully overtaken and annexed by France in 1888.

2. Paris, France

Paris has it all — incredible cuisine, legendary landmarks and centuries of history. Those are just some of the reasons it’s the second-best place to visit in the world.

Though you’ll want to spend your time hitting up popular tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and the Musee d’Orsay, you should also carve out time to explore other parts of Paris — the city’s 20 diverse neighborhoods, called arrondissements, for instance. Standouts include the 2nd arrondissement, which touts covered passages and some of the city’s hippest restaurants, and the romantic 18th arrondissement, with charming squares, cafes and bars, set apart from the city’s more tourist-packed areas.

What to Know Before You Go to Paris

Where to stay: Grand Hotel Du Palais Royal

Hot tip: Yes, summer in Paris is busy, but the weather is also ideal — average highs are in the 70s.

Fun fact: Built for the 1889 World Fair, the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be temporary , and was almost torn down in 1909. Luckily, local officials saw its value as a radiotelegraph station, preserving the future tourist icon for generations to come. 

1. South Island, New Zealand

South Island, the larger but less populated of the two islands that make up New Zealand, earn this top-spot honor for its gorgeous scenery, adrenelin-pumping experiences and affordability.

The 33.5-mile hike on Milford Sound, which is limited to 90 people at a time, is considered one of the world’s best treks, with stops at Lake Te Anau, suspension bridges, a mountain pass and the tallest waterfall in the country, Sutherland Falls.

For a heart-pumping experience, you can jump out of a helicopter while flying over the Harris Mountains with skis on your feet. Still not satisfied? Roam Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage area, and explore the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, two of the most accessible glaciers in the world.

What to Know Before You Go to New Zealand

Where to stay: QT Queenstown

Hot tip: Book your trip for the fall, when South Island is temperate, not overcrowded and offers great rates. Bonus: This is also when the island is at its most stunning.

Fun fact: New Zealand natives, called Kiwis, are among the most hospitable you’ll ever meet. The local saying “He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata” translates , appropriately, to “What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people.”

Scientists Have Calculated How Long It'll Take to Reach Distant Stars

Are we there yet?

• The researchers compared the predicted paths of four spacecraft to the paths of nearby stars, as measured by the Gaia space telescope, to see where and when they might overlap.
• According to their work , posted to the online pre-print server arXiv, it would take about 90,000 years for Pioneer 10 to swing within striking distance of a nearby star.

The intrepid Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts were launched in 1977, and despite having a roughly 12-year mission lifespan, are still hurtling through space and returning data to eager scientists on Earth. They’ve broken through barrier that protects our solar system and are now zipping through the interstellar medium along with Pioneer 10 and 11.

But how long might it take them, or another spacecraft, to actually reach another star system?

A team of scientists—Coryn Bailer-Jones of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Switzerland and Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory—have done the calculations. Essentially, the pair found a way to chart how long it would take a spacecraft to get from our humble solar system to the next system over, according to a paper uploaded to the pre-print server arXiv.

In the quest for answers, Farnocchia and Bailer-Jones turned to the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope for help. For more than five years, Gaia has been gathering data on billions of stars , charting their orbits and path through the cosmos.

Using this data and data about the projected paths of both the voyager spacecrafts as well as Pioneer 10 and 11, which are careening toward the outer reaches of the solar system, the researchers were able to create a timeline of when these crafts might reach distant star systems. For those eager to visit other worlds, brace for some bad news.

Should they continue their transit, the four spacecraft will come within striking distance of approximately 60 stars in the next million years. And in that same amount of time, they’ll get even closer—try two parsecs, the equivalent of 6.5 light years—to about 10 stars.

Who will have the best shot at reaching and exploring a distant star? Pioneer 10 will swing within .231 parsecs the star system HIP 117795 in the Cassiopeia constellation in approximately 90,000 years. And how long before one of these spacecrafts is hijacked by the orbit of one of these stars? It’ll be about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years.

You'll have some time to kill.

Jennifer Leman is a science journalist and senior features editor at Popular Mechanics, Runner's World, and Bicycling. A graduate of the Science Communication Program at UC Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Science News and Nature. Her favorite stories illuminate Earth's many wonders and hazards.

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How long does it take for light from the Sun to reach Earth?

The answer is either 8 minutes 20 seconds or thousands of years, depending on how you look at it!

Russell Deeks

It takes light from the Sun 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach us on Earth – on average.

That’s the simple, straightforward answer – but whatever the razor-toting Mr Occam may tell you, the simple, straightforward answer seldom tells you the whole truth.

In this case, there are two factors that complicate the picture.

Firstly, the answer that it takes light from the Sun 8m 20s to reach Earth is derived by dividing the distance from the Sun to Earth – around 150 million kilometres – by the speed of light , which is around 300,000 km/s (kilometres per second).

That’ll give you a journey time of some 500 seconds, or eight minutes 20 seconds.

However, Earth’s orbit around the Sun is slightly elliptical rather than perfectly circular.

So the actual distance between our planet and the big fiery globule of burning gas that gives Earth light and heat can be anywhere from 147 to 152 million kilometres.

So light's actual journey time from the Sun to Earth can be anywhere from 490 to 507 seconds, or 8m 10s to 8m 27s.

Secondly, the answer above is how long it takes for any given photon of light to journey from the Sun’s surface to that of Earth – but that’s not the whole story.

Photons of light, you see, aren’t formed at the Sun’s surface: they’re ‘made’ deep inside the star and because the Sun is, to quote Douglas Adams, "vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big".

It can take them thousands or even tens of thousands of years to reach the surface of the Sun, before they embark on their 8m 20s journey to Earth.

This means that while the photons of light coming your computer or screen that enable you to read this article are just nanoseconds old, those that hit your eyes when you step outside on a sunny day actually began their journey several thousand years ago.

Which is a bit longer than 8m 20s.

And which, as a side note, is why shadows are inherently funny.

Imagine being born inside a star, spending thousands of years fighting your way to its surface, bravely traversing millions of miles of interplanetary space and battling through Earth’s atmosphere all the way down to the ground.

Only, after all that effort, to have your plans thwarted by a lamp post or wheelie bin!

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• How Long Would It Take To Travel To Each Planet?

Our solar system is home to eight individual planets . Moving outwards from the sun , they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Some of these worlds are far closer than others, and the time it would take to travel to each planet is different for every one of them. Just how long would it take to travel to each planet?

Mercury and Venus

How long it would take to travel to the planets is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the route you take, the spacecraft you use, and where the planets are located in their respective orbits . To simplify things, we will assume that the route you take is a direct one and that the planets are at their closest approach to one another. Furthermore, we will assume that any spacecraft we use to travel to the planets is as fast as the New Horizons spacecraft, which happens to be one of the fastest human-made objects ever built. At its fastest, New Horizons reached a speed of about 50,000-miles per hour (80,000-kilometres per hour). Since Mercury and Venus are the closest planets to Earth , the time it would take to travel to them will be the shortest. At its closest approach, Mercury is about 48-million miles (77-million kilometres) from Earth. To calculate time, we simply divide distance by velocity, so in this case we divide 48-million miles by 50,000-miles per hour, giving us 960-hours of travel time. Divide this by 24-hours, and we get the number of days it would take to get to Mercury, which ends up being 40-days. When Venus is at its closest approach to Earth, it is about 38-million miles (61-million kilometres) away, and so it would take about 32-days to get to Venus. 

Mars is the most frequently visited planet in our solar system. While humans have yet to land on the Martian surface, space agencies have sent a number of rovers , landers, and satellites to study the Red Planet. During its closest approach, Mars is about 51-million miles (82-million kilometres) away from Earth. Moving at a speed of 50,000-miles per hour, it would take you about 42.5-days to reach Mars. 

Jupiter and Saturn

Beyond the orbit of Mars is the realm of the gas giants . Beyond Mars, the gas giants are much further away than their rocky counterparts. Jupiter is the closest gas giant to Earth, yet even at its closest approach it is still 367-million miles (590-million kilometres) away from our world. At this distance and moving at a speed of 50,000-miles per hour, it would take you 306-days to reach Jupiter. Saturn , meanwhile, is much further away than even Jupiter. At its closest approach to Earth, Saturn is 746-million miles (1.2-billion kilometres) away. At this distance, it would take you 622-days or 1.7-years to reach Saturn. 

Uranus and Neptune

Beyond Jupiter and Saturn are the two outermost planets of our solar system, Uranus and Neptune . These two worlds are so far away from us that they are the only two planets not visible to the naked eye. At its closest approach to the Earth, Uranus is located a staggering 1.7-billion miles (2.7-billion kilometres) away. Travelling in a spacecraft moving at 50,000-miles per hour, it would take you 1,416-days or 3.88-years to reach Uranus. When Neptune is at its closest approach, the distance between Earth and Neptune is 2.7-billion miles (4.3-billion kilometres), and so it would take 2,250-days or 6.16-years.

Planetary Travel Time

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How long does it take to get to the moon?

Here we explore how long it takes to get to the moon and the factors that affect the journey to our rocky companion.

• Traveling at the speed of light
• Fastest spacecraft
• Driving to the moon

Q&A with an expert

• Calculating travel times

Moon mission travel times

Additional resources, bibliography.

If you wanted to go to the moon, how long would it take? 

Well, the answer depends on a number of factors ranging from the positions of Earth and the moon , to whether you want to land on the surface or just zip past, and especially to the technology used to propel you there.

The average travel time to the moon (providing the moon is your intended destination), using current rocket propulsion is approximately three days. The fastest flight to the moon without stopping was achieved by NASA's New Horizons probe when it passed the moon in just 8 hours 35 minutes while en route to Pluto . 

Currently, the fastest crewed flight to the moon was Apollo 8. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit just 69 hours and 8 minutes after launch according to NASA .

Here we take a look at how long a trip to the moon would take using available technology and explore the travel times of previous missions to our lunar companion. 

Related: Missions to the moon: Past, present and future

How far away is the moon?

To find out how long it takes to get to the moon, we first must know how far away it is. 

The average distance between Earth and the moon is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers), according to NASA. But because the moon does not orbit Earth in a perfect circle, its distance from Earth is not constant. At its closest point to Earth — known as perigee — the moon is about 226,000 miles (363,300 km) away and at its farthest — known as apogee — it's about 251,000 miles (405,500 km) away.

How long would it take to travel to the moon at the speed of light?

Light travels at approximately 186,282 miles per second (299,792 km per second). Therefore, a light shining from the moon would take the following amount of time to reach Earth (or vice versa):  

• Closest point: 1.2 seconds 
• Farthest point: 1.4 seconds 
• Average distance:  1.3 seconds 

How long would it take to travel to the moon on the fastest spacecraft so far?

The fastest spacecraft is NASA's Parker Solar Probe , which keeps breaking its own speed records as it moves closer to the sun. On Nov. 21, 2021, the Parker Solar Probe clocked a top speed of 101 miles (163 kilometers) per second during its 10th close flyby of our star, which translates to a blistering 364,621 mph (586,000 kph). According to a NASA statement , when the Parker Solar Probe comes within 4 million miles (6.2 million kilometers) of the solar surface in December 2024, the spacecraft's speed will top 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 km/h)!

So if you were theoretically able to hitch a ride on the Parker Solar Probe and take it on a detour from its sun-focused mission to travel in a straight line from Earth to the moon, traveling at the speeds the probe reaches during its 10th flyby (101 miles per second), the time it would take you to get to the moon would be:

• Closest point: 37.2 minutes
• Farthest point: 41.4 minutes
• Average distance: 39.4 minutes

How long would it take to drive to the moon?

Let's say you decided to drive to the moon (and that it was actually possible). At an average distance of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) and driving at a constant speed of 60 mph (96 km/h), it would take about 166 days.  

We asked Michael Khan, ESA Senior Mission Analyst some frequently asked questions about travel times to the moon. 

Michael Khan is a Senior Mission Analyst for the European Space Agency (ESA). His work involves studying the orbital mechanics for journeys to planetary bodies including Mars.

And what affects the travel time?

The time it takes to get from one celestial body to another depends largely on the energy that one is willing to expend. Here  "energy" refers  to the effort put in by the launch vehicle and the sum of the manoeuvres of the rocket motors aboard the spacecraft, and the amount of propellant that is used. In space travel, everything boils down to energy. Spaceflight is the clever management of energy.

Some common solutions for transfers to the moon are 1) the Hohmann-like transfer and 2) the Free Return Transfer. The Hohmann Transfer is often referred to as the one that requires the lowest energy, but that is true only if you want the transfer to last only a few days and, in addition, if some constraints on the launch apply. Things get very complicated from there on, so I won't go into details.

The transfer duration for the Hohmann-like transfer is around 5 days. There is some variation in this duration because the moon orbit is eccentric, so its distance from the Earth varies quite a bit with time, and with it, the characteristics of the transfer orbit.

The Free Return transfer is a popular transfer for manned spacecraft. It requires more energy than the Hohmann-like transfer, but it is a lot safer, because its design is such that if the rocket engine fails at the moment you are trying to insert into the orbit around the Moon, the gravity of the Moon  will deflect the orbit exactly such that it returns to the Earth. So even with a defective propulsion system, you can still get the people back safely. The Apollo missions flew on Free Return transfers. They take around 3 days to reach the moon.

Why are journey times a lot slower for spacecraft intending to orbit or land on the target body e.g. Mars compared to those that are just going to fly by?

If you want your spacecraft to enter Mars orbit or to land on the surface, you add a lot of constraints to the design problem. For an orbiter, you have to consider the significant amount of propellant required for orbit insertion, while for a lander, you have to design and build a heat shield that can withstand the loads of atmospheric entry. Usually, this will mean that the arrival velocity of Mars cannot exceed a certain boundary. Adding this constraint to the trajectory optimisation problem will limit the range of solutions you obtain to transfers that are Hohmann-like. This usually leads to an increase in transfer duration.

Calculating travel times to the moon — it's not that straightforward

A problem with the previous calculations is that they measure the distance between Earth and the moon in a straight line and assume the two bodies remain at a constant distance; that is, assuming that when a probe is launched from Earth, the moon would remain the same distance away by the time the probe arrives. 

In reality, however, the distance between Earth and the moon is not constant due to the moon's elliptical orbit, so engineers must calculate the ideal orbits for sending a spacecraft from Earth to the moon. Like throwing a dart at a moving target from a moving vehicle, they must calculate where the moon will be when the spacecraft arrives, not where it is when it leaves Earth. 

Another factor engineers need to take into account when calculating travel times to the moon is whether the mission has the intention of landing on the surface or entering lunar orbit. In these cases, traveling there as fast as possible is not feasible as the spacecraft needs to arrive slowly enough to perform orbit insertion maneuvers. 

More than 140 missions have been launched to the moon, each with a different objective, route and travel time. 

Perhaps the most famous — the crewed Apollo 11 mission — took four days, six hours and 45 minutes to reach the moon. Apollo 10 still holds the record for the fastest speed any humans have ever traveled when it clocked a top speed of while the crew of Apollo 10 traveled 24,791 mph (39,897 kph) relative to Earth as they rocketed back to our planet on May 26, 1969.

The first uncrewed flight test of NASA's Orion spacecraft and space launch system rocket — Artemis 1 — reached the moon on flight day six of its journey and swooped down to just 80 miles (130 km) above the lunar surface to gain a gravitational boost to enter a so-called "distant retrograde orbit." 

Read more about how space navigation works with accurate timekeeping with these resources from NASA . Learn more about how before the days of GPS engineers were able to navigate from Earth to the moon with such precision with this article by Gwendolyn Vines Gettliffe published at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 'ask an engineer' feature. 

Hatfield, M. (2021). Space Dust Presents Opportunities, Challenges as Parker Solar Probe Speeds Back toward the Sun – Parker Solar Probe. [online] blogs.nasa.gov. Available at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/parkersolarprobe/2021/11/10/space-dust-presents-opportunities-challenges-as-parker-solar-probe-speeds-back-toward-the-sun/ .

NASA (2011). Apollo 8. [online] NASA. Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo8.html .

www.rmg.co.uk. (n.d.). How many people have walked on the Moon? [online] Available at: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/how-many-people-have-walked-on-moon . 

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Daisy Dobrijevic joined Space.com in February 2022 having previously worked for our sister publication All About Space magazine as a staff writer. Before joining us, Daisy completed an editorial internship with the BBC Sky at Night Magazine and worked at the National Space Centre in Leicester, U.K., where she enjoyed communicating space science to the public. In 2021, Daisy completed a PhD in plant physiology and also holds a Master's in Environmental Science, she is currently based in Nottingham, U.K. Daisy is passionate about all things space, with a penchant for solar activity and space weather. She has a strong interest in astrotourism and loves nothing more than a good northern lights chase! 

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• UFOareAngels The fact that we are still asking this question proves we never went to the moon and are never going back. Reply
• Rathelor Those Parker Solar Probe travel times seems a little too high. Reply
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Classroom Activity

Planetary travel time.

Scratch paper

Solar system object images – download PDF

Student worksheet – download PDF

Teacher answer key – download PDF

Chart paper

(Optional) calculator

• Download images of the planets and display them around the classroom for reference.
• Project or copy the tables from the student worksheet onto large chart paper or a whiteboard.
• Students can work individually or in groups in which they divide the work among team members.
• If time is limited, assign each group one mode of transportation or one planet for which to perform the calculations.

The solar system is enormous. Making a scale model of the solar system can help students understand the vast distances between planets. Take their understanding a step further with this lesson, which has them determine how long it would take to travel to each of the major planets and the dwarf planet Pluto.

How big are the planets and how far away are they compared to each other? See how the sizes of planets and the distances between them compare in this video. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Watch on YouTube

For this lesson, we take a simplified approach to having students compute straight-line distances to the planets from Earth. While this approach is effective for aiding student understanding, it’s not practical for real space travel because straight-line distances to the planets vary every day and spacecraft don’t travel in a straight line.

When we send a spacecraft to another planet, it follows a curved path, or trajectory , because of the gravitational pull of the Sun and the other solar system objects it passes near. Additionally, the planets are always moving, which can affect the time it takes to travel to them. A destination planet might be on the same side of the Sun as Earth when a spacecraft launches, but on the complete opposite side by the time it arrives.

Removing those factors allows young students to estimate the length of time it would take them to get to the planets by walking, riding their bikes, driving a car, riding on a rocket or traveling at the speed of light. Of course, most of these modes of transportation are impossible for space travel, but because they are most tangible to young students, they can help students gain a conceptual understanding of the vast distances in our solar system. Note that the rate of travel used for the rocket is the top speed of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, the fastest spacecraft in existence. 

• Provide students with student worksheets, pencils, scratch paper and, if desired, calculators.
• Have a volunteer read the instructions from the student worksheet.
• Ask the class how the distance from Earth to each of the planets and Pluto should be computed. Answer: Subtract the appropriate distances.
• Have students represent the problems to be solved using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity.
• Have the class work together to compute the distance from Earth to each of the planets and Pluto. Fill in the class chart together as students fill in the charts on their worksheets.
• Ask students to guess how long it would take them to travel to the planets using the various modes of transportation. Fill these guesses into the class chart.
• Ask students how we should determine actual travel times by each mode of transportation to a given planet. Answer: Divide the distance by the rate of travel.
• Have students work individually or in small groups to perform the calculations and record their answers on their worksheets.
• Compare actual answers to guesses and determine how they differ. Were student guesses close? Did they follow the same pattern?
• If time allows, have students convert some of the larger numbers of hours into days or years.
• Point out to students that we cannot travel at the speed of light, but as technology improves, we may be able to travel faster and get to other planets sooner.
• Ask students to research how far away the closest star and neighboring planetary system are, then determine how long it would take by rocket to get there.
• Ask students to identify some of the challenges of sending humans on such long journeys. Some challenges they might mention include taking enough food, water and air to breathe, being away from their families so long, physiological effects of being in space for extended periods, the length of time it would take them to return, and more.
• Students should be able to understand which calculations are needed to yield the desired answers.
• Students should be able to perform these calculations either by hand or using a calculator.

Solar System Bead Activity

Students create a scale model of the solar system using beads and string.

Time 30 mins - 1 hr

Solar System Scroll

Students predict the scale of our solar system and the distance between planets, then check their answers using fractions.

Time < 30 mins

Create a Solar System Scale Model With Spreadsheets

In this activity, students use spreadsheet software and their knowledge of scale, proportion and ratios to develop a solar system model that fits on a playground.

Grades 5-12

Kinesthetic Radial Model of the Solar System

Students model the position of the planets around the Sun and then model viewing them from Earth on any given date.

Grades 6-11

The Nine Planets

How Far is the Sun From Earth?

Everything in the Universe is moving, from a couple of kilometers/miles per second to more than 200 km / 124 mi per second, with space itself theorized to expand faster than even the speed of light, which is 299,792 km / 186,282 mi per second.

Most of the objects in our universe appear to be drifting away from us, while others, such as the Andromeda Galaxy , are closing in on us, but let us take a closer look at the celestial objects in our vicinity, like the Sun.

How far is the Sun from Earth? Well, when it comes to space, we apply different measurements, and in terms of distance, we speak trough astronomical units.

An astronomical unit (AU) is the equivalent of 150 million km / 93 million mi, and the Sun is 1 AU away from Earth. In light-years, the Sun is 0.00001581 light-years away, while in light minutes, the Sun is 8.20 light minutes away, or 500 light-seconds away from Earth.

If we were to speak in meters, then the Sun would be 150.4 billion meters away from Earth. The Earth orbits the Sun once every 365.3 days, while farther planets such as Mars, completes an orbit around the Sun in 687 days. For comparison, Mars is 1.5 AU away from the Sun, which would translate to 227.94 million km / 141.70 million mi.

Since the Earth moves around the Sun, the distance differs, with Earth’s closest point from the Sun – perihelion – reaching 147.5 million km / 91.3 million mi.

When it comes to Earth’s farthest point from the Sun – aphelion –  it is around 152 million km / 94.5 million mi, a little over 1 AU away from the Sun.

How Long Would It Take to Get to the Sun From Earth?

It’s tough to predict a spacecraft’s journey towards the Sun. If we were to launch an imaginary spacecraft from Earth that would travel around 153,454 mi / 246,960 km per hour constantly, it would reach the Sun in 606 hours, or 25 days.

However, what clouds our estimation is the fact that it is impossible to launch a spacecraft that would constantly maintain its top speed from the start. When the spacecraft is launched, it will take several minutes or hours to reach its top speed.

One of the fastest planned spacecraft on Earth is the Parker Solar Probe. This probe might reach a maximum speed of 430,000 mi / 692,017 km per hour. This means that the spaceship may get to the Sun in around 216 hours or nine days.

However, there is an additional problem. Nothing in space stays still, so we can’t launch anything directly at the Sun, because the moment the object would arrive at the Sun’s position, it would no longer be there.

Therefore, we first have to predict where the Sun would be, based upon its moving speed, and then calculate our object’s moving rate, and most of all, we even have to consider our Earth’s movement.

How Long Would It Take to Get to the Sun in a Car?

Let’s say we could drive our cars towards the Sun. Since when it comes to space, distances take on a whole new value, maybe with this hypothetical scenario, we might more easily familiarize ourselves with the actual length of the Sun, how far away it is.

So how long would it take to get to the Sun in a car? If our car would travel at a constant speed of around 100 mph, and if we could drive for 24 hours without rest, then we would reach the Sun with our car in more than 106 years.

However, this also implies that our oxygen, food, and fuel reserves are infinite, and we would travel towards a correct estimation of where the Sun would be at, in around 106 years.

In a Jumbo Jet, it may take up to 19 years to get to the Sun from Earth, so regardless of our current daily traveling methods, it would take more than a lifetime to reach the Sun.

Is Earth Getting Closer to the Sun?

Since the Sun is so far away, and as discussed above, it would take more than a lifetime to reach it, would our chances of getting to the Sun increase in the distant future? Is our Earth getting closer to the Sun?

Now, getting closer to the Sun wouldn’t really help us in any way, shape, or form, probably not even scientifically. There may be other methods available to us in the future to collect data from our Sun, without the need to be near it.

In fact, we aren’t even getting closer to our Sun. Our Earth is actually slowly moving away from the Sun. This is because our Sun, like all stars, burns its fuel.

As the Sun burns its fuel,  it loses power, mass, and gravity. Since the Sun’s gravity / gravitational pull is weakening, since it loses mass, our Earth can slowly move away from it.

Our Earth is moving away from the Sun at around 15 cm every year. However, Earth will never escape from the Solar System , since the Sun will evolve in 5 billion years into a red giant star.

When this happens, Earth will be with 750,000 km / 466,028 mi farther away from the Sun; however, the Sun will also expand its radius for more than 256 times its current size (696,340 km / 432,685 mi), reaching over 178 million km / 110 million mi in radius, inevitably engulfing Earth in the end.

How Far is it From Earth to Space?

If you want to reach space from Earth, then you would have to fly straight up in the sky for around 100 km / 62 miles. This is where most scientists agree, is where our planet’s boundary ends, and suborbital space begins.

Did you know?

• Our Solar System travels through space at a speed of around 515,000 mph / 828,000 km/h.
• It takes our Solar System around 230 million years to travel around our galaxy, the Milky Way , once.
• Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun. It is situated at around 30 AU away – that’s 30 times farther away from the Sun than our Earth.
• Though Neptune is regarded as the farthest planet away from the Sun when Pluto was categorized as a planet, it held this title. Now Pluto is considered a dwarf planet , and it is located at around 39 AU away from our Sun.

Image Sources:

• https://earthsky.org/upl/2014/01/earth-sun-lg-nasa-artist-e1476952761550.jpg
• https://scijinks.gov/review/earths-seasons/aphelion-perihelion-lrg.png
• https://www.eteknix.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/solar-system-800×450.jpg
• https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/sweap_thumb.png
• https://regmedia.co.uk/2018/01/18/sun_earth_messenger.jpg
• https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/4/2019/09/GettyImages-471296532-c-db7bc08.jpg?quality=90&resize=960%2C408

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Noaa scales mini.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona. They can eject billions of tons of coronal material and carry an embedded magnetic field (frozen in flux) that is stronger than the background solar wind interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength. CMEs travel outward from the Sun at speeds ranging from slower than 250 kilometers per second (km/s) to as fast as near 3000 km/s. The fastest Earth-directed CMEs can reach our planet in as little as 15-18 hours. Slower CMEs can take several days to arrive. They expand in size as they propagate away from the Sun and larger CMEs can reach a size comprising nearly a quarter of the space between Earth and the Sun by the time it reaches our planet.

The more explosive CMEs generally begin when highly twisted magnetic field structures (flux ropes) contained in the Sun’s lower corona become too stressed and realign into a less tense configuration – a process called magnetic reconnection. This can result in the sudden release of electromagnetic energy in the form of a solar flare; which typically accompanies the explosive acceleration of plasma away from the Sun – the CME. These types of CMEs usually take place from areas of the Sun with localized fields of strong and stressed magnetic flux; such as active regions associated with sunspot groups. CMEs can also occur from locations where relatively cool and denser plasma is trapped and suspended by magnetic flux extending up to the inner corona - filaments and prominences. When these flux ropes reconfigure, the denser filament or prominence can collapse back to the solar surface and be quietly reabsorbed, or a CME may result. CMEs travelling faster than the background solar wind speed can generate a shock wave. These shock waves can accelerate charged particles ahead of them – causing increased radiation storm potential or intensity.

Important CME parameters used in analysis are size, speed, and direction. These properties are inferred from orbital satellites’ coronagraph imagery by SWPC forecasters to determine any Earth-impact likelihood. The NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) carries a coronagraph – known as the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). This instrument has two ranges for optical imaging of the Sun’s corona: C2 (covers distance range of 1.5 to 6 solar radii) and C3 (range of 3 to 32 solar radii). The LASCO instrument is currently the primary means used by forecasters to analyze and categorize CMEs; however another coronagraph is on the NASA STEREO-A spacecraft as an additional source.

Imminent CME arrival is first observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, located at the L1 orbital area. Sudden increases in density, total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength, and solar wind speed at the DSCOVR spacecraft indicate arrival of the CME-associated interplanetary shock ahead of the magnetic cloud. This can often provide 15 to 60 minutes advanced warning of shock arrival at Earth – and any possible sudden impulse or sudden storm commencement; as registered by Earth-based magnetometers.

Important aspects of an arriving CME and its likelihood for causing more intense geomagnetic storming include the strength and direction of the IMF beginning with shock arrival, followed by arrival and passage of the plasma cloud and frozen-in-flux magnetic field. More intense levels of geomagnetic storming are favored when the CME enhanced IMF becomes more pronounced and prolonged in a south-directed orientation. Some CMEs show predominantly one direction of the magnetic field during its passage, while most exhibit changing field directions as the CME passes over Earth. Generally, CMEs that impact Earth’s magnetosphere will at some point have an IMF orientation that favors generation of geomagnetic storming. Geomagnetic storms are classified using a five-level NOAA Space Weather Scale. SWPC forecasters discuss analysis and geomagnetic storm potential of CMEs in the forecast discussion and predict levels of geomagnetic storming in the 3-day forecast.

*Images courtesy of NASA and the SOHO and STEREO missions

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Guest Essay

Our Mom Is 75. We’re Moving Heaven and Earth for This Eclipse.

By Kathleen Lenihan and Maureen Lenihan Rust

Ms. Lenihan is a former high school history teacher and an elected member of the School Committee in Lexington, Mass. Ms. Rust is a senior manager for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

If all goes according to plan, on Monday, our 75-year-old mother, Nancy, will be settled into a lawn chair in Waco, Texas — some 1,300 miles from her recliner in Las Vegas — and joining a great many other Americans as they put on solar eclipse glasses, tilt their heads up and try to make sense of what’s happening in the heavens.

None of this was a given. Fiercely independent and more than a little skeptical of hype, fads and feverish mass events, our mother is not what you’d call a joiner. Like many of her generation, she has seen a lot in life; she knows what it’s like to have high expectations and be let down. But she also knows the coming eclipse is neither trend nor fad. Planning to see it has united our family in a desire to participate in a mass event that is a wonder of the world.

Part of the drive to take our mother to Waco is the hard truth of time. Partial eclipses come and go, but the next awe-inspiring and captivating total eclipse will not be seen again in the contiguous United States until 2044. Our mother is in variable health and disabled. Absent good luck and medical advancements, odds are heavily stacked against her living to see another one.

Retirement for our mom came with familiar features — more time for her hobbies, rooting for her favorite teams and vacations that cater to disabled individuals. But this planned excursion is different. A cruise can bill itself as a “once-in-a-lifetime adventure” and then offer many dates on the calendar for the same adventure. No matter how many exhilarating experiences a person has collected in 75 years, this one will stand apart.

Her body may be broken, but our mother is still the experience-seeker she has always been. She left home at 18 for a college a thousand miles away, traveled alone to the Middle East and never met a boat, big or small, she didn’t love.

These days, our mom can barely walk. She moves around via a scooter. Her back is so damaged from osteoporosis and an unsuccessful surgery that she cannot sleep, stand or sit without pain. Still, she remains the same stubborn and determined person she has always been. Years ago, this meant going to law school at the age of 40, traveling the world as a divorced single woman and starting her own business just shy of her 50th birthday. Now it means bristling when we mentioned that we are coming from our homes in Massachusetts and California to “take” her to see the eclipse.

“I decided I was going, so I am going,” she told us. “Compliant” and “rule-following” are words not generally used to describe our mom. It wasn’t true when she was a girl at Catholic school, and it certainly isn’t true now with her adult children.

As for us, we don’t always feel like dutiful children. Sure, we send flowers for Mother’s Day and her birthday. We try to speak at least weekly with our mother, but we also frequently end up in yelling matches over politics. In those moments, we tell her she has lost her mind, and she wonders aloud where she went wrong in raising us. Although we visit every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have never vacationed together as adults. The daily demands of work and our own children long ago got in the way, and those yelling matches are wearying. It’s easy to end a phone call. It’s much harder to stop an uncomfortable conversation at the dinner table.

Despite all that, we have spent more than a year making the arrangements to escort her to this phenomenon of nature. Flights, rental cars and a wheelchair-friendly rental house have been booked since last spring. Most important, we identified an eclipse event at Baylor University in Waco that could handle my mom’s needs while giving us the best chance to view the eclipse under clear skies. We asked the organizers so many questions about walkways, bathrooms, seating and parking that a representative replied via email, “I can see you are putting a lot of thought into making this happen for your mom.” It is a lot of planning, but then my mom (and dad) did the same for four children. Our childhood was filled with trips to see the birthplaces of presidents, Thomas Edison’s workshop, Civil War battlefields, the U.S. Mint and more. Now, like many people in their 40s and 50s, we’ve reversed our roles.

Our mother stayed home when two of her children viewed the solar eclipse in 2017 in Jackson Hole, Wyo. They came back with tales of an event so transformational, she knew she wanted to witness the next one for herself.

People who have never seen a total eclipse are often befuddled by all the hoopla. They most likely recall a partial solar eclipse from childhood — a vague memory of seeing a strange, shadowy impression of the sun through cheap paper sunglasses. But a total solar eclipse is a singularly spectacular phenomenon. The sky darkens, the temperatures drop, and birds fall silent. Viewers can stare directly in the direction of the sun without any eye protection for the minutes of “totality,” when the moon completely covers the sun. Indeed, the only time a human being can see the entire daytime sky is during a total solar eclipse. As Dr. David Grinspoon, now senior scientist for Astrobiology Strategy at NASA, explained to a reporter in 2017, “It’s like the veil comes off the heavens for a minute.” A total eclipse is so outside the realm of normal human experience that in the minutes of totality in 2017, we shouted out in delight and spontaneously hugged each other. Many of us that day had not fully understood that the universe could put on such a wondrous display.

Knowing all that, our mother is saving her strength. She booked a business class flight to Texas to ease her pain, and she is sitting out most of Waco’s pre-eclipse weekend festivities. She will skip the planned science talks. Instead, she will rest for most of the morning and plan to arrive on Baylor’s campus just in time to see the start of the eclipse.

We inherited the desire to explore our world from our mother. The need to care for her now is just as deeply woven into our psyche. Over the past year of planning, the eclipse became less about science for us and more about ensuring that our mother finally has this experience of a lifetime.

Kathleen Lenihan, the eldest of Nancy’s four children, is an elected member of the Lexington, Mass., School Committee. Maureen Lenihan Rust, the second of Nancy’s four children, is a senior manager for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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This diagram shows what happens during a total solar eclipse

• A total solar eclipse will be visible from Texas to Maine on Monday.
• This cosmic event occurs when the Earth, sun, and moon align perfectly.
• One diagram shows how a total solar eclipse works, and why it darkens the sky in the middle of the day.

A total solar eclipse will turn afternoon skies dark from Texas to Maine on Monday.

During the eclipse, the moon will cross between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking out the sun's light. If you're in the moon's shadow, the sky will go dark for about three to four minutes, depending on your location.

It's the climax of a cosmic dance between our planet , the moon, and the sun.

What causes a total solar eclipse

During a total solar eclipse, three key conditions happen at the same time: The moon is in the "new moon" phase; the moon crosses the plane of the Earth's orbit ; and the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

When those conditions are just right, the Earth, sun, and moon line up. This diagram shows how that looks:

Then, if you're in the path of totality — which is basically the center of the moon's shadow, called the umbra — the moon appears to obscure the sun.

If you're in the penumbra — the outer region of the moon's shadow — you'll see a partial solar eclipse , where the moon appears to partially overlap the sun.

A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about every 18 months on average. It's rare for one to occur in any single place, though, because of the complex movements of the Earth and moon.

The moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days, while Earth has its own orbit around the sun. The moon's orbit is tilted about five degrees, which is large enough to keep its shadow off the Earth and the Earth's shadow off the moon most of the time.

There are two points — called nodes — where the moon's orbit crosses the Earth's plane. In the diagram above, the moon is lined up on a node.

Related stories

The moon aligns with the nodes and the sun about twice per year, which is how we get eclipses. A solar eclipse happens when the moon is between the Earth and sun. A lunar eclipse happens when the moon is on the other side of the Earth, farthest from the sun.

What the total solar eclipse will look like

In the path of totality on Monday, where the moon's umbra falls over Earth, the total solar eclipse will have 10 distinct phases , each with different amounts of the sun visible from the ground.

The phenomenon kicks off with what's called first contact, when the moon starts to pass across the sun. After about an hour, the moon will almost completely mask the sun, and you'll start to see a bright light radiate out of the sliver of remaining sun, known as the "diamond ring."

Then the moon will fully eclipse the sun, turning the sky dark in the middle of the day.

During totality only the sun's outermost atmosphere, called the corona, will be visible glowing around the dark disc of the moon.

After that, the moon will continue to travel across the sky to form another crescent. The eclipse ends when the moon ceases to cover the sun.

Types of solar eclipses

There are three types of solar eclipses .

Total solar eclipses, like this one, occur when the moon appears to completely cover the sun. If the moon only somewhat covers the sun, that's a partial eclipse . Many people who are near the path of totality, but not in it, on Monday will see a partial eclipse.

The third type, an annular eclipse , occurs when the moon is too far from Earth to fully block out the sun from our perspective. The outer edge of the sun remains visible as a bright ring around the moon.

A total solar eclipse is considered the most spectacular. Globally, only about a third of all solar eclipses are total.

The next total solar eclipse in the contiguous US will be in 2044.

How to watch the eclipse

If you plan to watch the eclipse, make sure you are wearing ISO-certified eclipse glasses . These are 1,000 times darker than regular sunglasses. Without them, staring at the sun could damage your eyes.

The only safe time to look at the eclipse without glasses is during totality.

Leanna Garfield and Anaele Pelisson contributed to an earlier version of this post .

Watch: Why the sun has two giant holes, and what that means for Earth

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Why the New Jersey earthquake was felt several hundred miles away

Wendy Bohon, an earthquake geologist, was reading a budget report Friday morning at her home in Chesapeake Beach, Md., when she felt the unmistakable light shaking of an earthquake . The cat didn’t wake up. The dog looked around. A plant swayed.

The tremors traveled about 160 miles to Bohon’s home from a 4.8-magnitude earthquake near Whitehouse Station, N.J. It was a moderate earthquake from a geological point of view, with similar-sized quakes happening frequently all over the globe. But it marked a relatively infrequent event on the East Coast — one that jostled people across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast from their daily routines.

More than 150,000 people reported feeling the New Jersey earthquake, some from several hundred miles away, according to the United States Geological Survey , which collects reports of shaking. While the number of reports reflects the population density of the area, it also highlights a fundamental geological difference between the tectonically active West Coast and the East Coast, which is covered by old faults that occasionally get reactivated.

The underlying rock in the East Coast is old, cold and dense, and the faults have had time to heal, meaning that seismic waves travel farther than on the West Coast, where the crust is broken up by faults.

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake “is not generally big enough to cause damage, but big enough to be widely felt,” said Susan Hough, a seismologist with USGS. “Once an earthquake happens, the waves travel more efficiently in the east than in the west — the crust is older, colder and less broken up — that’s something we’ve seen over and over. You put a [4.8] in California, and it won’t be felt nearly as far as this one.”

East Coast earthquakes

Several geologists said that while an earthquake greater than 4 magnitude was not a frequent event on the East Coast, such events aren’t unexpected. In 2017, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Dover, Del. A 2011 5.8-magnitude earthquake near Mineral, Va., was believed to be felt by more people than any earthquake in U.S. history and resulted in significant damage, including to the Washington Monument and Washington National Cathedral in D.C. A 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Reading, Pa., in 1994.

The New Jersey earthquake, which struck at 10:23 a.m. Friday, was relatively shallow, just three miles below the surface. The investigation into the quake will continue, but Christopher Carchedi, a seismologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, said a common cause of such earthquakes on the East Coast is the shifting of Earth’s surface after being weighed down by ice sheets from the last Ice Age.

“It’s otherwise an inactive fault, readjusting to the loss of the ice, most likely,” Carchedi said.

Hough said the region is generally considered a “passive margin” between North America and the Atlantic Ocean, meaning there’s no active fault or plate boundary. But she notes that one of her colleagues calls it a “passive-aggressive margin — because it will occasionally bite you.”

“Moderate earthquakes in the East are always uncommon enough to be interesting,” Hough said, noting that Friday’s will be intensely studied.

Shaking travels far

As soon as she felt the tremors, Bohon began counting down. Earthquakes unleash multiple kinds of seismic waves that travel through the Earth at different speeds. Measuring the time between the first shaking and the next set of waves can give a rough estimate of how close it was — similar to measuring the time between a flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder.

Bohon got to eight seconds, so she knew that the epicenter of the quake wasn’t very close. Then, she began looking up local seismic reports to make sure she hadn’t imagined it.

I swear I just felt in earthquake in Maryland, — Wendy Bohon, PhD 🌏 (@DrWendyRocks) April 5, 2024

It has long been known that earthquake shaking travels farther on the East Coast than on the West Coast. The USGS says earthquakes can be felt over an area 10 times larger on the East Coast.

On the West Coast, “the rocks are warmer, so they are more active, they’ve experienced activity more recently — so they’re warmer and will attenuate or absorb some of the seismic energy as they pass through that rock,” Carchedi said.

By contrast, the rocks are cold and brittle on the East Coast, and they transfer seismic energy much better than the West Coast.

Friday’s temblor is a reminder, Bohon said, that while people think of earthquakes as a West Coast phenomenon, they can happen anywhere.

2024 eclipse one of many reasons flat Earth claims are nonsense | Fact check roundup

Tens of millions of Americans will watch as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth on April 8, completely blocking out daylight for minutes for those in the path of totality . The celestial show has launched a frenzy of paper glasses purchases and hotel reservations , and it serves as a perfect case-in-point for how scientists know the Earth, moon and sun move through space.

But it hasn't stopped some skeptics from continuing to believe the Earth is flat, a conspiracy theory experts say dangerously feeds into paranoia and spurs an unhealthy skepticism of all science and credible authorities.

The USA TODAY Fact-Check Team has debunked an array of flat Earth-related claims, including that Antarctica is really an ice wall around a flat Earth and the related conspiracy theory that space – and space travel – isn't real.

More: Surreal April 2024 total solar eclipse renews debunked flat Earth conspiracy theories

More : The 2024 total solar eclipse is in less than a week: How to get glasses; cloud forecast

The claim: NASA admits the Earth is flat and non-rotating

Our rating: False

NASA has consistently said the Earth is a round, rotating globe, and the documents referenced don't prove otherwise. The "flat, non-rotating earth" model is a common technique used to generalize mathematic equations, experts said.  Read more

More from the Fact-Check Team:  How we pick and research claims |  Email newsletter  |  Facebook page

The claim: Antarctica is an ice wall that surrounds the flat Earth

Antarctica is a continent in the Southern Hemisphere. Satellite data from NASA and independent companies shows the land mass as an island with a definitive end. Read more

The claim: Pictures show the Earth is flat, and sea levels haven’t changed

Scientists have ample evidence the Earth is curved, including images of the planet taken from outer space. And long-term tide gauge data shows that sea levels have risen in Sydney Harbor over the past century and continue to rise. Read more

The claim: Moon visible in the daytime proves Earth is flat

The Earth is not flat, it's spherical, as proven by photos from space and an array of observations and calculations that can be done from Earth. Planetary scientists say the visibility of the moon and sun during the daytime doesn't prove a flat Earth – it is in fact a reflection of the motion of the sun, moon and Earth in space, along with the Earth's rotation. The moon also does not emit its own light.  Read more

The claim: Radar technology wouldn’t work if the Earth was a globe

Scientists say that radar technologies account for the Earth’s curvature. Furthermore, the curvature of the Earth plays into some of the limitations of radar technology. An abundance of evidence demonstrates the Earth is spherical in shape – including images of the planet taken from outer space. Read more

The claim: Celestial navigation would be impossible if Earth is globe-shaped and orbits the sun

Celestial navigation is a technique still used to determine location based on the positions of celestial objects. Because the Earth and other celestial bodies are in motion, the apparent position of stars, planets and the sun in the sky changes. These changes must be taken into account for successful celestial navigation. Read more

The claim: Operation Highjump was a mission to find out what was beyond the 'ice wall' of Antarctica

Historical records show Operation Highjump was a naval operation conducted to establish a base in Antarctica. There is no evidence it was sent to investigate an "ice wall." There’s overwhelming evidence that Antarctica is a continent, not an ice wall. Read more

The claim: Post implies moon missions impossible because of Earth's atmospheric temperatures

Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim is wrong. Thermospheric temperatures do not melt spacecraft. While this layer of the atmosphere does technically reach the temperatures stated in the post, there are not enough air molecules in the thermosphere to transfer significant amounts of this heat to an object, according to researchers. Read more

The claim: Post implies Apollo missions didn't happen because lunar module can't travel between Earth and the moon

The implied claim is wrong. The Apollo 11 lunar module traveled through space after being propelled toward the moon by a powerful rocket. Astronauts made the journey in a different, attached module − called the command module. Astronauts only used the lunar module for transport between the moon and the orbiting command module. Read more

The claim: Post implies NASA space shuttle can't travel faster than jet due to its design

The implied claim is wrong. The NASA space shuttle travels much faster at top speeds than the SR-71. The space shuttle is launched with the aid of huge rocket boosters not shown in the photo and only reaches top speeds at elevations where there is virtually no air resistance. The SR-71 jet moves more slowly because it must reach its top speeds under its own power and against the friction of Earth's atmosphere. Read more

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Watch CBS News

Earthquake snarls air and train travel in the New York City area

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Aimee Picchi

Updated on: April 5, 2024 / 4:36 PM EDT / CBS News

An  earthquake  centered in New Jersey and felt across the New York City region on Friday disrupted air and rail travel, with ground stoppages at airports in the New York City area and delays in train service. 

Travel operations were momentarily halted Friday morning with ground stoppages at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens and at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, with crews working to resume normal air traffic operations. By early afternoon, the ground stoppage at JFK had been lifted. 

Arriving and departing flights in Newark also resumed in the afternoon, but delays averaged roughly two hours,  according  to the Federal Aviation Administration. 

The earthquake, which occurred roughly 10:20 a.m. Eastern time, had either a 4.7 or 4.8 magnitude and was centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, 40 miles west of New York City,  according to the United States Geological Survey.

Newark airport is experiencing average departure delays of 43 minutes, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Inbound aircraft that are already airborne are delayed by about an hour. Inbound flights that have not yet taken off are being held until 12:30 p.m., according to the site.  

Flights in and out of LaGuardia airport in Queens were also delayed, likely in order for airport staff to check for damage to the airport and runways and clear away any debris. 

The ground stoppages and delays are not expected to last long. 

Additionally, New Jersey Transit said it's experiencing up to 20-minute delays across its entire rail service system, in both directions. NJ Transit said it's inspecting a bridge for damage to ensure train travel is safe. 

—CBS News' Kris Van Cleave contributed reporting.

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.

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