Highlights
- The Sun is in Ophiuchus, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Taurus
- T CrB: magnitude
9.967 ± 0.006 [2024-12-13 12:29:26 UTC, CCD/V, SRIC/AAVSO] -
Mercury is in favorable conditions for morning observations with a solar elongation of
15.9° (sky map) - Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS):
magnitude
8.4 in Scorpius - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
10.3 in Aquila - Comet 333P/LINEAR:
magnitude
11.6 in Draco -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2022 YO1,
Dec 17 2024 at 15:40 UTC,756,604 km,1.97 lunar distances - Jupiter is close to opposition
- Asteroid 13 Egeria is close to opposition
- Asteroid 15 Eunomia 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 | 17h 26m 57s | -23° 13’ 11” | 1,949.4” | -26.78 | Ophiuchus | map my_location |
| Moon | 04h 00m 10s | +24° 33’ 25” | 1,955.0” | -12.34 | Taurus | 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 | 16h 21m 33s | -18° 38’ 26” | 8.8” | 0.69 | Scorpius | map my_location |
| Venus | 20h 42m 44s | -20° 32’ 36” | 18.9” | -4.27 | Capricornus | map my_location |
| Mars | 08h 36m 10s | +21° 51’ 05” | 12.8” | -0.77 | Cancer | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 04h 57m 02s | +21° 59’ 17” | 47.0” | -2.80 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 01m 55s | -08° 23’ 34” | 16.5” | 1.00 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 27m 29s | +18° 33’ 46” | 3.7” | 5.65 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 51m 33s | -02° 19’ 34” | 2.3” | 7.75 | 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.
8.8”
18.9”
12.8”
47.0”
16.5”
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 229 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 16h 28m 59s | -38° 02’ 49” | 8.4 | 10.35 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 19h 24m 40s | +05° 08’ 15” | 10.3 | 11.81 | Aquila Aql | map my_location | ||
| 333P/LINEAR | 17h 15m 27s | +66° 22’ 57” | 11.6 | 14.16 | Draco Dra | map my_location | ||
| 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann | 10h 14m 14s | +08° 51’ 37” | 11.9 | 17.51 | Leo Leo | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 03h 34m 02s | +67° 44’ 32” | 12.8 | 13.14 | Camelopardalis Cam | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 17h 01m 24s | -13° 24’ 18” | - | 13.88 | Ophiuchus Oph | map my_location | ||
| P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 13h 10m 04s | +06° 02’ 48” | - | 14.51 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2021 G2 (Atlas) | 14h 46m 31s | -19° 21’ 11” | - | 15.18 | Libra Lib | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 19h 40m 21s | -17° 00’ 35” | - | 15.18 | Sagittarius Sgr | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) | 18h 13m 16s | +34° 14’ 26” | - | 15.21 | Hercules Her | 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 | 13h 29m 20s | -02° 48’ 29” | 7.95 | Virgo | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 25m 47s | +33° 50’ 42” | 8.10 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 20h 25m 28s | -26° 27’ 00” | 9.28 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 22h 03m 12s | -06° 30’ 23” | 9.93 | Aquarius | map my_location | ||
| 14 Irene | 07h 18m 39s | +25° 11’ 41” | 10.15 | Gemini | map my_location | ||
| 13 Egeria | 04h 15m 47s | +35° 43’ 41” | 10.27 | Perseus | map my_location | ||
| 29 Amphitrite | 10h 19m 18s | +16° 36’ 56” | 10.37 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 18h 18m 25s | +03° 04’ 30” | 10.40 | Ophiuchus | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 01m 35s | +10° 22’ 18” | 10.51 | Cetus | map my_location | ||
| 6 Hebe | 17h 24m 58s | -14° 04’ 31” | 10.70 | Serpens | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geminids | 14 Dec | 07h 30m | +33° | 120 | medium | 3200 Phaethon | map | |
| Puppid-Velids | multiple | 08h 11m | -45° | 10 | medium | map | ||
| Dec. Leonis Minorids | 20 Dec | 10h 41m | +30° | 5 | medium | map | ||
| Sigma Hydrids | 11 Dec | 08h 30m | +02° | 3 | medium | map | ||
| Comae Berenicids | 16 Dec | 11h 41m | +18° | 3 | medium | map | ||
| Monocerotids | 8 Dec | 06h 42m | +08° | 2 | medium | C/1917 F1 (Mellish) | map | |