Today's highlights
- Check out the Mars Perseverance Rover Photostream!
- The Sun is in the constellation of Ophiucus. The Moon is in the constellation of Taurus and it is in Waning Gibbous phase.
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Serpens and its latest estimated magnitude is 11.17. It should be visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
- Comet ZTF (C/2020 V2) is in the constellation of Draco and its latest estimated magnitude is 11.25. It should be visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
- 5D/Brorsen (Lost) is in the constellation of Pisces Austrinus and its latest estimated magnitude is 11.86. It should be visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 8 inches (200mm) or more.
- The next close approach with a Near Earth Object (NEO) will happen with Asteroid (NEO) 2019 XY on Dec 10 2022 at 06:00 UTC (7 hours 38 minutes), at an approach distance of 1,359,702 kilometers, or 3.54 lunar distances, and a relative speed of 12.89 kilometers per second.
- The Moon is at opposition, current elongation 160.1°
- Mars is at opposition, current elongation 176.7°
- Asteroid 349 Dembowska (1892 T) is at opposition, current elongation 167.2°
Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
- 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 December 31 2099 using our Online Planetarium.
- Discover our 3D Solar System Simulator and visualize orbits and relative positions of Solar System objects at any point in time up to December 31 2099.
- Discover facts about thousands of stars and deep sky objects for each Constellation of the night sky.
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 | 17h 05m 40s | -22° 51’ 00” | 1,948.3” | -26.78 | Ophiucus |
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Moon | 06h 33m 00s | +27° 00’ 30” | 1,773.8” | -12.12 |
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Taurus |
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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 | 17h 57m 20s | -24° 09’ 26” | 10.0” | -3.90 | Sagittarius |
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Jupiter | 23h 58m 14s | -01° 41’ 59” | 41.4” | -2.50 |
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Pisces |
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Mars | 04h 54m 16s | +24° 56’ 47” | 16.9” | -1.97 |
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Taurus |
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Mercury | 18h 18m 21s | -25° 41’ 42” | 5.4” | -0.61 | Sagittarius |
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Saturn | 21h 31m 52s | -15° 57’ 11” | 15.7” | 0.82 |
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Capricornus |
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Uranus | 02h 52m 11s | +16° 06’ 11” | 3.7” | 5.68 | Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 33m 44s | -04° 08’ 28” | 2.3” | 7.75 | 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”
10.0”
16.9”
41.4”
15.7”
3.7”
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 ephemeris service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior 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 (219)
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs | Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred | Coma DiameterComa Diam | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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C/2022 E3 (ZTF) | 15h 53m 01s | +25° 41’ 29” | - | 11.17 |
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- | Serpens Ser |
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C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 10h 42m 46s | +79° 26’ 15” | - | 11.25 |
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- | Draco Dra |
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5D/Brorsen (Lost) | 21h 56m 47s | -30° 19’ 00” | - | 11.86 |
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- | Pisces Austrinus PsA |
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C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 17h 28m 46s | -56° 35’ 47” | - | 12.57 | - | Ara Ara |
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81P/Wild 2 | 13h 31m 05s | -07° 47’ 04” | - | 13.04 | - | Virgo Vir |
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C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) | 14h 03m 34s | +35° 01’ 25” | - | 13.20 |
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- | Canes Venatici CVn |
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C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) | 10h 00m 29s | -26° 33’ 06” | - | 14.18 | - | Hydra Hya |
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C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) | 18h 02m 29s | -21° 39’ 56” | - | 14.42 | - | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2019 T4 (ATLAS) | 14h 45m 45s | -02° 04’ 25” | - | 14.62 | - | Virgo Vir |
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C/2021 Y1 (ATLAS) | 04h 04m 00s | +06° 56’ 50” | - | 14.93 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 | 08h 39m 39s | +07° 26’ 14” | - | 15.17 |
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- | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2021 E3 (ZTF) | 09h 24m 21s | -43° 58’ 48” | - | 15.62 |
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- | Vela Vel |
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C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) | 03h 09m 59s | -48° 23’ 26” | - | 15.63 |
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- | Horologium Hor |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 03h 54m 46s | +20° 30’ 51” | - | 15.76 | - | Taurus Tau |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 06h 48m 39s | +29° 25’ 39” | - | 15.77 | - | Gemini Gem |
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119P/Parker-Hartley | 08h 08m 05s | +20° 07’ 33” | - | 15.80 | - | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2022 P1 (NEOWISE) | 19h 31m 11s | -38° 53’ 28” | - | 15.81 |
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- | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 00m 14s | -37° 26’ 52” | - | 15.90 |
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- | Columba Col |
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C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) | 09h 30m 51s | +17° 57’ 43” | - | 15.97 |
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- | Leo Leo |
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C/2021 P4 (ATLAS) | 16h 28m 47s | -62° 25’ 56” | - | 15.98 |
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- | Triangulum Australis TrA |
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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 dwarf planets (79)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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2 Pallas | 07h 11m 00s | -31° 04’ 27” | 7.91 |
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Canis Majoris |
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4 Vesta | 22h 40m 06s | -15° 53’ 19” | 8.09 |
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Aquarius |
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1 Ceres | 12h 05m 53s | +10° 36’ 55” | 8.46 |
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Virgo |
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3 Juno | 23h 17m 32s | -11° 05’ 53” | 9.27 |
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Aquarius |
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324 Bamberga | 03h 07m 37s | +39° 13’ 27” | 9.53 |
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Perseus |
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6 Hebe | 08h 57m 34s | +08° 02’ 11” | 9.56 |
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Cancer |
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324 Dembowska | 04h 16m 32s | +29° 27’ 52” | 9.68 |
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Taurus |
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10 Hygiea | 17h 39m 53s | -24° 05’ 57” | 11.06 |
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Ophiucus |
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15 Eunomia | 16h 21m 58s | -28° 13’ 38” | 11.07 |
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Scorpius |
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8 Flora | 17h 06m 21s | -20° 32’ 23” | 11.31 | Ophiucus |
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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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Geminids | 14 Dec | 07h 30m | +33° | 120 | medium | 3200 Phaethon |
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Puppid-Velids | multiple | 08h 11m | -45° | 10 | medium |
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Northern Taurids | 12 Nov | 03h 53m | +22° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke |
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Dec. Leonis Minorids | 20 Dec | 10h 41m | +30° | 5 | medium |
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Sigma Hydrids | 11 Dec | 08h 30m | +02° | 3 | medium |
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Monocerotids | 8 Dec | 06h 42m | +08° | 2 | medium | C/1917 F1 (Mellish) |
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Phoenicids | 2 Dec | 01h 11m | -53° | variable | medium | 289P/Blanpain |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]