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 | 10h 09m 25s | +11° 22’ 19” | 1,897.6” | -26.72 | Leo |
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Moon | 04h 13m 03s | +17° 39’ 28” | 1,851.3” | -9.92 |
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Aries |
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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 | 10h 21m 39s | +11° 42’ 56” | 9.7” | -3.96 | Leo |
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Jupiter | 16h 52m 45s | -22° 10’ 09” | 39.1” | -2.27 |
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Ophiucus |
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Mercury | 09h 28m 24s | +16° 23’ 04” | 5.4” | -1.30 |
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Cancer |
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Saturn | 19h 01m 19s | -22° 26’ 32” | 17.2” | 1.16 |
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Sagittarius |
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Mars | 10h 22m 54s | +11° 17’ 31” | 3.5” | 1.76 | Leo |
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Uranus | 02h 16m 32s | +13° 07’ 57” | 3.6” | 5.74 |
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Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 15m 40s | -05° 54’ 27” | 2.3” | 7.82 | Aquarius |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
5.4”
9.7”
3.5”
39.1”
17.2”
3.6”
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 W2 (Africano) | 03h 47m 39s | +57° 02’ 01” | 10.6 | 13.23 |
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2.3' | Camelopardalis Cam |
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68P/Klemola | 17h 24m 50s | -08° 38’ 46” | 12.9 | 15.15 | 7.9' | Ophiucus Oph |
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C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) | 02h 38m 51s | +21° 14’ 00” | - | 13.08 |
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- | Aries Ari |
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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) | 05h 13m 41s | +21° 39’ 52” | - | 13.21 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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168P/Hergenrother | 04h 27m 57s | +34° 47’ 07” | - | 13.51 |
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- | Perseus Per |
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260P/McNaught | 02h 05m 05s | +16° 10’ 14” | - | 13.71 |
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- | Aries Ari |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 00h 58m 53s | +16° 18’ 09” | - | 14.86 | - | Pisces Psc |
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C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) | 08h 48m 09s | -65° 04’ 53” | - | 14.90 | - | Volans Vol |
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C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) | 13h 34m 07s | -42° 58’ 26” | 15.0 | 15.91 |
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0.5' | Centaurus Cen |
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C/2017 B3 (LINEAR) | 23h 57m 05s | -45° 59’ 37” | - | 15.44 |
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- | Phoenix Phe |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 20h 22m 07s | -36° 15’ 00” | - | 15.44 |
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- | Sagittarius Sgr |
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25D/Neujmin 2 | 10h 43m 03s | +06° 01’ 46” | - | 15.96 | - | Leo Leo |
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78P/Gehrels 2 | 07h 35m 20s | +17° 11’ 14” | - | 16.29 |
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- | Gemini Gem |
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C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 55m 26s | -29° 05’ 50” | - | 16.30 |
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- | Canis Majoris CMa |
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C/2019 K7 | 20h 52m 34s | -33° 36’ 38” | - | 16.45 |
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- | Microscopium Mic |
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C/2019 K5 | 03h 07m 20s | +09° 33’ 06” | - | 16.52 |
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- | Cetus Cet |
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C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 17h 08m 30s | +54° 37’ 06” | 16.7 | 17.39 |
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0.5' | Draco Dra |
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C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS) | 11h 11m 57s | -55° 28’ 42” | - | 16.73 | - | Centaurus Cen |
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C/2019 K1 | 14h 54m 34s | -37° 53’ 05” | - | 16.79 |
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- | Centaurus Cen |
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C/2018 R3 (Lemmon) | 09h 55m 40s | +16° 57’ 27” | - | 17.07 |
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- | Leo Leo |
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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 (75)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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4 Vesta | 03h 35m 04s | +11° 11’ 37” | 7.78 |
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Taurus |
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15 Eunomia | 21h 07m 08s | -05° 55’ 38” | 8.36 |
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Aquarius |
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1 Ceres | 16h 07m 26s | -21° 53’ 19” | 8.72 |
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Scorpius |
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16 Psyche | 20h 51m 37s | -16° 33’ 41” | 9.73 |
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Capricornus |
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29 Amphitrite | 01h 35m 15s | +11° 30’ 22” | 9.90 |
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Pisces |
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18 Melpomene | 18h 06m 21s | -14° 43’ 47” | 9.92 |
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Serpens |
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2 Pallas | 14h 25m 07s | +13° 54’ 46” | 9.93 |
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Bootes |
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9 Metis | 02h 26m 06s | +07° 41’ 30” | 10.18 |
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Cetus |
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3 Juno | 10h 02m 40s | +08° 30’ 18” | 10.20 | Leo |
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13 Egeria | 23h 19m 43s | -30° 25’ 34” | 10.84 | Sculptor |
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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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Kappa Cygnids | 17 Aug | 19h 06m | +59° | 3 | medium |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]