Highlights
- The Sun is in Virgo, the Moon is Waning Gibbous in Aries
- T CrB: magnitude
9.931 ± 0.006 [2024-09-21 00:09:51 UTC, CCD/V, LMA/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
4.0 in Sextans - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
10.9 in Centaurus - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
10.9 in Bootes -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RY15,
Sep 21 2024 at 06:59 UTC,898,438 km,2.34 lunar distances - Saturn is close to opposition
- Neptune is at opposition
- Asteroid 17 Thetis is close to opposition
- Asteroid 20 Massalia is close to opposition
Popular Objects
Popular objects during the last 7 days based on the number of visualizations.
The Solar System
Current positions of the major bodies of the Solar System and the brightest comets.
Sun and Moon
How the Sun and the Moon look like today.
| R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 11h 55m 08s | +00° 31’ 25” | 1,911.3” | -26.73 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Moon | 02h 32m 15s | +17° 41’ 30” | 1,971.7” | -11.69 | Aries | map |
The Planets
Current essential information about the planets. Click each planet to view full details.
| Planet | R.A. | Decl. | Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 11h 27m 47s | +05° 27’ 51” | 5.2” | -1.37 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 42m 58s | -10° 25’ 56” | 11.8” | -3.90 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 41m 32s | +23° 23’ 54” | 7.2” | 0.59 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 20m 09s | +22° 24’ 29” | 40.0” | -2.39 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 08m 19s | -07° 55’ 01” | 18.5” | 0.62 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 28s | +19° 14’ 52” | 3.7” | 5.69 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 56m 37s | -01° 48’ 38” | 2.3” | 7.68 | Pisces | map my_location |
Jupiter Moons
Position of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. A dedicated tool is available, with more advanced features.
Saturn Moons & Rings
Inclination of the rings of Saturn and positions of major satellites. A dedicated tool is available, with more advanced features.
Apparent Planet Sizes
Comparison between the apparent size of the planets, measured in seconds of a degree, as they appear today.
5.2”
11.8”
7.2”
40.0”
18.5”
3.7”
2.3”
Credits for the planet images: NASA-APL - NASA.
Brightest Comets
List of the 10 brightest comets (open the full list of 227 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 10h 36m 45s | -06° 04’ 04” | 4.0 | 7.34 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 13h 22m 16s | -47° 40’ 25” | 10.9 | 13.43 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 14h 16m 11s | +09° 01’ 24” | 10.9 | 10.32 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 25s | +48° 14’ 29” | 13.3 | 13.58 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| 130P/McNaught-Hughes | 02h 42m 05s | +08° 13’ 13” | 13.8 | 17.17 | Cetus Cet | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 B1 (Lemmon) | 10h 44m 23s | +49° 44’ 13” | 14.4 | 15.03 | Ursa Major UMa | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 17h 09m 13s | -40° 58’ 11” | - | 14.63 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 44m 52s | -04° 49’ 48” | 14.7 | 15.86 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 11h 26m 36s | -64° 35’ 25” | - | 14.78 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 L2 (ATLAS) | 09h 56m 44s | -27° 51’ 00” | - | 14.81 | Antlia Ant | map my_location |
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.
Brightest Asteroids
List of the 10 brightest asteroids (open the full list of 78 asteroids and dwarf planets.)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Vesta | 11h 03m 08s | +10° 27’ 20” | 8.11 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 43m 11s | -30° 38’ 28” | 8.76 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 29m 43s | -10° 42’ 26” | 9.03 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 43m 08s | +49° 55’ 14” | 9.34 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 29m 54s | +35° 00’ 09” | 9.51 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 32m 46s | +04° 01’ 03” | 9.61 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 49m 19s | +12° 06’ 14” | 10.16 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 31m 08s | +10° 59’ 34” | 10.25 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 40m 37s | -17° 54’ 08” | 10.52 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 54m 20s | +13° 45’ 09” | 10.83 | Taurus | map my_location |
Active Meteor Showers
List of the currently active meteor showers.
| Name | Peak | Radiant R.A. | Radiant Decl. | ZHR ⓘ | Rating | Parent Object | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Taurids | 10 Oct | 02h 06m | +09° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| Daytime Sextantids | 27 Sep | 10h 05m | +00° | 5 | bright | map | ||