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 Aries and it is in Waxing Gibbous (approaching Full Moon) phase.
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Serpens and its latest estimated magnitude is 11.31. 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 11.31. 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 11.96. 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) 2022 WO10 on Dec 8 2022 at 17:29 UTC (1 days 20 hours 0 minutes), at an approach distance of 1,895,527 kilometers, or 4.93 lunar distances, and a relative speed of 4.75 kilometers per second.
- The Moon is at opposition, current elongation 165.5°
- Mars is at opposition, current elongation 177.1°
- Asteroid 349 Dembowska (1892 T) is at opposition, current elongation 169.9°
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.
Current Moon Sky Map
| R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | |||
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Sun | 16h 52m 23s | -22° 31’ 41” | 1,947.5” | -26.77 | Ophiucus |
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Moon | 03h 50m 52s | +21° 10’ 48” | 1,806.4” | -12.30 |
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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 | 17h 40m 40s | -23° 58’ 15” | 10.0” | -3.90 | Ophiucus |
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Jupiter | 23h 57m 41s | -01° 46’ 20” | 41.8” | -2.53 |
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Pisces |
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Mars | 04h 59m 26s | +24° 57’ 34” | 17.1” | -1.99 |
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Taurus |
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Mercury | 17h 58m 24s | -25° 42’ 49” | 5.2” | -0.61 |
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Sagittarius |
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Saturn | 21h 31m 00s | -16° 01’ 33” | 15.7” | 0.81 | Capricornus |
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Uranus | 02h 52m 36s | +16° 07’ 55” | 3.7” | 5.68 | Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 33m 42s | -04° 08’ 45” | 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
5.2”
10.0”
17.1”
41.8”
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 52m 43s | +25° 20’ 51” | - | 11.31 |
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- | Serpens Ser |
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C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 10h 54m 56s | +77° 27’ 44” | - | 11.31 |
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- | Draco Dra |
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5D/Brorsen (Lost) | 21h 53m 29s | -30° 55’ 08” | - | 11.96 |
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- | Pisces Austrinus PsA |
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C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 17h 21m 08s | -55° 26’ 22” | - | 12.58 |
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- | Ara Ara |
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81P/Wild 2 | 13h 22m 40s | -07° 02’ 25” | - | 13.06 |
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- | Virgo Vir |
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C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) | 13h 54m 27s | +33° 32’ 01” | - | 13.31 |
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- | Canes Venatici CVn |
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C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) | 10h 00m 33s | -25° 55’ 39” | - | 14.18 | - | Hydra Hya |
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C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) | 17h 59m 37s | -21° 09’ 34” | - | 14.43 | - | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2019 T4 (ATLAS) | 14h 42m 41s | -02° 12’ 41” | - | 14.62 | - | Virgo Vir |
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C/2021 Y1 (ATLAS) | 04h 09m 02s | +08° 29’ 19” | - | 14.95 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 | 08h 37m 40s | +07° 26’ 28” | - | 15.21 |
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- | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) | 03h 17m 12s | -49° 16’ 36” | - | 15.60 | - | Horologium Hor |
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C/2021 E3 (ZTF) | 09h 29m 55s | -43° 55’ 27” | - | 15.61 |
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- | Vela Vel |
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C/2022 P1 (NEOWISE) | 19h 32m 20s | -39° 02’ 57” | - | 15.75 |
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- | Sagittarius Sgr |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 03h 56m 57s | +20° 30’ 52” | - | 15.76 | - | Taurus Tau |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 06h 50m 01s | +29° 24’ 26” | - | 15.78 | - | Gemini Gem |
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119P/Parker-Hartley | 08h 08m 31s | +19° 56’ 00” | - | 15.81 | - | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2021 P4 (ATLAS) | 16h 14m 58s | -61° 50’ 07” | - | 15.90 |
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- | Triangulum Australis TrA |
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C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 02m 25s | -37° 10’ 08” | - | 15.94 |
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- | Columba Col |
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117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 | 20h 13m 44s | -27° 03’ 36” | - | 15.98 |
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- | Capricornus Cap |
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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 12m 15s | -30° 38’ 54” | 7.95 |
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Canis Majoris |
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4 Vesta | 22h 36m 20s | -16° 20’ 56” | 8.06 |
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Aquarius |
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1 Ceres | 12h 02m 08s | +10° 48’ 30” | 8.49 |
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Virgo |
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3 Juno | 23h 13m 41s | -11° 21’ 15” | 9.24 |
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Aquarius |
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324 Bamberga | 03h 09m 11s | +39° 42’ 04” | 9.45 |
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Perseus |
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6 Hebe | 08h 57m 28s | +07° 56’ 33” | 9.61 |
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Cancer |
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324 Dembowska | 04h 19m 32s | +29° 29’ 36” | 9.63 |
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Taurus |
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15 Eunomia | 16h 16m 49s | -28° 04’ 35” | 11.05 |
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Scorpius |
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10 Hygiea | 17h 34m 17s | -24° 04’ 52” | 11.09 |
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Ophiucus |
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7 Iris | 13h 40m 00s | -14° 49’ 59” | 11.32 | Virgo |
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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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November Orionids | 28 Nov | 06h 05m | +16° | 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]