Your guide to the Solar System
🌎 Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
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Welcome to your guide to the Solar System

Quick links

Popular Objects This Week

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!

Animate view
Left-click and drag to change the viewing angles; Right-click and drag to pan; Pinch or mouse-wheel to zoom.
View larger 3D Solar System Simulator

The Sun and the Moon Today

Here is how the Sun and the Moon look like today.

Credit: NASA, SDO, and the HMI Science Team
Information about the Sun
Current Sun Sky Map
Phase: First Quarter  Age: 8.59 days
Information about the Moon
Current Moon Sky Map
R.A. Decl. Apparent Diameter MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Sun 16h 45m 58s -22° 20’ 49” 1,947.2” -26.77 Ophiucus Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Moon 23h 59m 46s -05° 36’ 52” 1,772.4” -10.56 Aquarius Show sky map
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: 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
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Venus 18h 51m 20s -24° 30’ 34” 11.8” -3.88 Sagittarius Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Jupiter 18h 01m 38s -23° 18’ 18” 31.3” -1.84 Sagittarius Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Mercury 15h 30m 10s -17° 12’ 29” 5.8” -0.58 Libra Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Saturn 19h 18m 45s -22° 07’ 02” 14.8” 1.44 Sagittarius Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Mars 14h 33m 10s -14° 24’ 39” 4.0” 1.69 Libra Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Uranus 02h 03m 32s +12° 00’ 26” 3.7” 5.70 Aries Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Neptune 23h 08m 51s -06° 36’ 19” 2.3” 7.89 Aquarius Show sky map
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison

Mercury
5.8”
Venus
11.8”
Mars
4.0”
Jupiter
31.3”
Saturn
14.8”
Uranus
3.7”
Neptune
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 (171)

Comet R.A. Decl. Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred Coma DiameterComa Diam ConstellationConst Map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) 04h 45m 13s +48° 03’ 03” 10.1 11.16 2.7' Perseus Per Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) 23h 43m 44s +39° 10’ 55” 11.3 13.74 1.6' Andromeda And Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon 260P/McNaught 02h 24m 45s +47° 53’ 15” 12.7 15.54 3.4' Andromeda And Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS) 14h 40m 56s -83° 38’ 09” 13.5 16.58 0.9' Octans Oct Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) 21h 23m 51s -69° 23’ 19” 14.2 15.71 0.5' Pavo Pav Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 00h 24m 59s +13° 04’ 38” - 15.34 - Pisces Psc Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 68P/Klemola 21h 02m 43s -14° 34’ 11” - 15.75 - Capricornus Cap Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2019 K1 16h 26m 12s -59° 48’ 56” - 15.77 - Norma Nor Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2019 Q4 11h 23m 28s -16° 05’ 46” - 16.28 - Crater Crt Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2017 B3 (LINEAR) 22h 53m 59s -30° 02’ 54” - 16.30 - Pisces Austrinus PsA Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon P/2010 H2 (Vales) 20h 53m 44s -30° 18’ 29” - 16.45 - Microscopium Mic Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) 06h 28m 20s -34° 29’ 07” - 16.78 - Columba Col Show sky map
object currently below the horizon 78P/Gehrels 2 09h 38m 57s +06° 07’ 09” - 16.82 - Hydra Hya Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2019 K7 20h 06m 02s -20° 29’ 01” - 16.86 - Sagittarius Sgr Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2019 N1 17h 18m 23s +61° 36’ 36” - 16.88 - Draco Dra Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) 14h 23m 44s -56° 12’ 22” - 16.89 - Centaurus Cen Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2018 W2 (Africano) 21h 39m 51s -44° 37’ 47” - 16.96 - Grus Gru Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) 17h 35m 08s +45° 56’ 23” - 17.21 - Hercules Her Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2019 F1 14h 35m 02s -09° 20’ 10” - 17.58 - Libra Lib Show sky map
object currently below the horizon C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) 09h 05m 50s +23° 40’ 42” - 17.75 - Cancer Cnc Show sky map
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: 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 (76)

Asteroid R.A. Decl. MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 4 Vesta 02h 56m 11s +08° 02’ 44” 6.88 Cetus Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 1 Ceres 18h 32m 13s -26° 42’ 30” 9.12 Sagittarius Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 9 Metis 01h 38m 37s +06° 25’ 21” 9.51 Pisces Show sky map
current altitude greater than 30 degrees above the horizon 15 Eunomia 21h 46m 43s -02° 38’ 12” 9.84 Aquarius Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 29 Amphitrite 00h 40m 21s +09° 56’ 19” 9.89 Pisces Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 2 Pallas 16h 53m 23s +03° 45’ 08” 10.14 Ophiucus Show sky map
object currently below the horizon 5 Astraea 08h 28m 06s +13° 58’ 48” 10.30 Cancer Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 10 Hygiea 03h 55m 43s +23° 44’ 24” 10.47 Taurus Show sky map
object currently below the horizon 192 Nausikaa 08h 00m 58s +30° 33’ 29” 10.66 Gemini Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon 18 Melpomene 20h 40m 29s -18° 41’ 40” 10.72 Capricornus Show sky map
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: 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
object currently below the horizon Geminids 14 Dec 07h 30m +33° 120 medium 3200 Phaethon Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Puppid-Velids multiple 08h 11m -45° 10 medium Show sky map
current altitude less than 30 degrees above the horizon Northern Taurids 12 Nov 03h 54m +22° 5 bright Comet Encke Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Dec. Leonis Minorids 20 Dec 10h 41m +30° 5 medium Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Sigma Hydrids 11 Dec 08h 30m +02° 3 medium Show sky map
object currently below the horizon November Orionids 28 Nov 06h 05m +16° 3 medium Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Monocerotids 8 Dec 06h 41m +08° 2 medium C/1917 F1 (Mellish) Show sky map
object currently below the horizon Phoenicids 2 Dec 01h 12m -53° variable medium 289P/Blanpain Show sky map
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]