Welcome to your guide to the Solar System
- Check the upcoming close approaches between Earth and NEO (Near Earth Object) Asteroids.
- Find information, position data and sky charts for Planets, Asteroids, Comets, Interplanetary Probes.
- Use our Observing Guide to plan observations of the Solar System objects visible tonight from your location.
- Create accurate and interactive maps of the sky visible from any location up to the year 2035 using our Online Planetarium.
- Discover our 3D Solar System Simulator
Quick links
- Popular Objects
- Current Solar System Configuration
- The Sun and The Moon Today
- The Planets Today
- Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
- Brightest Comets Visible Today
- Brightest Asteroids Visible Today
- Active Meteor Showers Visible Today
Popular Objects This Week
Current Solar System Configuration
This interactive 3D model shows the today's configuration of the major bodies of the Solar System along their orbits. It is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. For more advanced features, check out our 3D Solar System Simulator. Please provide us feedback!
View larger 3D Solar System Simulator
The Sun and the Moon Today
Here is how the Sun and the Moon look like today.
| R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | |||
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Sun | 08h 05m 20s | +20° 19’ 03” | 1,888.6” | -26.71 | Cancer |
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Moon | 00h 12m 33s | -04° 09’ 01” | 1,773.0” | -10.90 |
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Aquarius |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
The Planets Today
Key information about the Planets today. Click each row to
go to each planet's detail page. Click the blue 'full screen' icon ()
to view an accurate deep sky chart showing the planet's current position.
| Planet | R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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Venus | 07h 39m 28s | +22° 08’ 03” | 9.7” | -3.91 | Gemini |
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Jupiter | 16h 54m 26s | -22° 06’ 39” | 42.7” | -2.47 |
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Ophiucus |
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Saturn | 19h 09m 18s | -22° 10’ 49” | 17.7” | 0.98 |
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Sagittarius |
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Mars | 09h 02m 27s | +18° 05’ 07” | 3.6” | 1.81 | Cancer |
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Mercury | 07h 54m 20s | +15° 46’ 48” | 11.5” | 5.29 |
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Cancer |
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Uranus | 02h 16m 05s | +13° 06’ 19” | 3.5” | 5.80 | Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 18m 13s | -05° 37’ 13” | 2.3” | 7.84 | Aquarius |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
11.5”
9.7”
3.6”
42.7”
17.7”
3.5”
2.3”
Images credits: NASA-APL - NASA.
Bright Comets Today
These are the brightest comets currently visible in the sky. The Observed Magnitude and Coma Diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behvior of comets. When available please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated Magnitude as a directional indication.
Click on each line to go to the comet's detail page, or click the blue 'full screen' icon
()
to view an accurate deep sky chart showing the comet's current position in real time.
Also check the full list of tracked comets (167)
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs | Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred | Coma DiameterComa Diam | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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C/2018 W1 (Catalina) | 09h 52m 17s | -40° 02’ 01” | 13.0 | 17.53 |
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0.8' | Antlia Ant |
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168P/Hergenrother | 02h 48m 12s | +18° 00’ 39” | - | 13.58 |
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- | Aries Ari |
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C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) | 02h 41m 57s | +13° 02’ 25” | - | 13.60 |
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- | Aries Ari |
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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) | 04h 45m 53s | +18° 00’ 13” | - | 13.97 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) | 08h 06m 27s | -56° 30’ 53” | 14.2 | 14.86 | 0.5' | Carina Car |
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C/2018 W2 (Africano) | 04h 30m 11s | +59° 30’ 24” | - | 14.55 |
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- | Camelopardalis Cam |
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260P/McNaught | 01h 01m 05s | -01° 19’ 54” | - | 14.83 |
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- | Cetus Cet |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 01h 00m 24s | +15° 24’ 32” | - | 15.04 | - | Pisces Psc |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 20h 45m 17s | -35° 02’ 54” | - | 15.27 |
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- | Microscopium Mic |
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C/2017 B3 (LINEAR) | 00h 24m 52s | -45° 38’ 12” | - | 15.38 | - | Phoenix Phe |
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C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) | 13h 41m 58s | -42° 28’ 16” | - | 15.39 |
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- | Centaurus Cen |
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68P/Klemola | 17h 14m 04s | -04° 30’ 18” | - | 15.43 |
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- | Ophiucus Oph |
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78P/Gehrels 2 | 06h 28m 24s | +19° 35’ 45” | - | 16.01 | - | Gemini Gem |
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C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 34m 43s | -28° 36’ 55” | - | 16.06 |
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- | Canis Majoris CMa |
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25D/Neujmin 2 | 08h 54m 22s | +16° 42’ 29” | - | 16.15 |
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- | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2018 R3 (Lemmon) | 08h 59m 14s | +33° 01’ 43” | - | 16.21 |
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- | Lynx Lyn |
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C/2019 J2 | 13h 57m 08s | +67° 41’ 34” | - | 16.31 |
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- | Draco Dra |
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C/2019 K5 | 02h 15m 08s | +10° 49’ 53” | - | 16.56 | - | Aries Ari |
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C/2019 K7 | 21h 38m 07s | -35° 06’ 31” | - | 16.61 |
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- | Pisces Austrinus PsA |
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C/2019 D1 (Flewelling) | 00h 48m 27s | +45° 18’ 55” | - | 16.62 |
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- | Andromeda And |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.
Bright Asteroids Today
These are the top 10 brightest asteroids visible tonight. Click on each line to go to the asteroids's detail page, or click the blue 'full screen' icon ()
to view an accurate deep sky chart showing the asteroids's current position in real time. Also check the full list of tracked asteroids and dward planets (74)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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4 Vesta | 03h 00m 53s | +09° 59’ 44” | 8.09 |
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Cetus |
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1 Ceres | 15h 52m 59s | -19° 45’ 09” | 8.21 |
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Libra |
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15 Eunomia | 21h 37m 37s | -06° 40’ 08” | 8.70 |
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Aquarius |
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18 Melpomene | 18h 17m 41s | -10° 44’ 07” | 9.39 |
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Serpens |
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2 Pallas | 13h 51m 23s | +18° 38’ 16” | 9.66 |
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Bootes |
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16 Psyche | 21h 16m 37s | -14° 08’ 32” | 9.77 |
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Aquarius |
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3 Juno | 09h 03m 32s | +12° 05’ 50” | 10.29 | Cancer |
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29 Amphitrite | 01h 20m 37s | +08° 40’ 23” | 10.48 |
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Pisces |
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9 Metis | 01h 56m 08s | +05° 45’ 48” | 10.76 |
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Pisces |
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11 Parthenope | 15h 05m 39s | -12° 25’ 41” | 10.83 |
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Libra |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Active Meteor Showers Today
This is a list of the currently active meteor showers. The celestial coordinates refer to the meteor shower radiant position, i.e. the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from. The ZHR value refers to the Zenithal Hourly Rate, i.e. the average number of meteors an individual observer could see in an hour, assuming perfectly dark sky conditions. This number is an estimate, the actual number an observer could see depends on the actual intensity of the shower (which can be highly variable) and on the actual sky conditions. Clicking on the blue square icon will bring you to a sky map showing the radiant position. The data used here is derived from Wikipedia.
| Name | Peak | Radiant R.A. | Radiant Decl. | ZHR | Rating | Parent Object | Map | |
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Perseids | 12 Aug | 03h 12m | +58° | 150 | bright | 109P/Swift-Tuttle |
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Southern Delta Aquariids | 30 Jul | 22h 42m | -16° | 25 | bright |
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Piscis Austrinids | 28 Jul | 22h 42m | -30° | 5 | faint |
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Alpha Capricornids | 30 Jul | 20h 30m | -10° | 5 | bright |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]