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 Gemini and it is in Waning Gibbous phase.
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Corona Borealis and its latest estimated magnitude is 11.16. 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 11.24. 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 11.85. 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 (1 hours 33 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.
- Mars is at opposition, current elongation 176.4°
- Asteroid 349 Dembowska (1892 T) is at opposition, current elongation 166.9°
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.
| R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | |||
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Sun | 17h 06m 47s | -22° 52’ 27” | 1,948.4” | -26.78 | Ophiucus |
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Moon | 06h 43m 03s | +26° 57’ 21” | 1,772.0” | -12.05 |
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Gemini |
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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 58m 45s | -24° 10’ 04” | 10.0” | -3.90 | Sagittarius |
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Jupiter | 23h 58m 16s | -01° 41’ 36” | 41.3” | -2.50 | Pisces |
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Mars | 04h 53m 49s | +24° 56’ 37” | 16.9” | -1.96 |
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Taurus |
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Mercury | 18h 20m 00s | -25° 41’ 00” | 5.4” | -0.61 | Sagittarius |
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Saturn | 21h 31m 57s | -15° 56’ 49” | 15.7” | 0.82 | Capricornus |
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Uranus | 02h 52m 09s | +16° 06’ 02” | 3.7” | 5.68 |
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Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 33m 44s | -04° 08’ 27” | 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”
41.3”
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 03s | +25° 43’ 25” | - | 11.16 |
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- | Corona Borealis CrB |
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C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 10h 41m 24s | +79° 36’ 20” | - | 11.24 |
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- | Draco Dra |
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5D/Brorsen (Lost) | 21h 57m 04s | -30° 15’ 54” | - | 11.85 |
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- | Pisces Austrinus PsA |
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C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 17h 29m 26s | -56° 41’ 38” | - | 12.57 |
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- | Ara Ara |
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81P/Wild 2 | 13h 31m 47s | -07° 50’ 46” | - | 13.04 |
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- | Virgo Vir |
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C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) | 14h 04m 21s | +35° 09’ 11” | - | 13.19 |
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- | Canes Venatici CVn |
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C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) | 10h 00m 28s | -26° 36’ 13” | - | 14.18 | - | Hydra Hya |
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C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) | 18h 02m 44s | -21° 42’ 28” | - | 14.42 |
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- | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2019 T4 (ATLAS) | 14h 46m 01s | -02° 03’ 41” | - | 14.62 | - | Virgo Vir |
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C/2021 Y1 (ATLAS) | 04h 03m 35s | +06° 49’ 07” | - | 14.93 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 | 08h 39m 48s | +07° 26’ 20” | - | 15.17 |
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- | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2021 E3 (ZTF) | 09h 23m 51s | -43° 58’ 58” | - | 15.62 | - | Vela Vel |
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C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) | 03h 09m 24s | -48° 18’ 49” | - | 15.63 |
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- | Horologium Hor |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 03h 54m 36s | +20° 30’ 51” | - | 15.76 |
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- | Taurus Tau |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 06h 48m 31s | +29° 25’ 45” | - | 15.77 | - | Gemini Gem |
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119P/Parker-Hartley | 08h 08m 02s | +20° 08’ 35” | - | 15.80 |
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- | Cancer Cnc |
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C/2022 P1 (NEOWISE) | 19h 31m 06s | -38° 52’ 43” | - | 15.81 |
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- | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 00m 02s | -37° 28’ 12” | - | 15.90 |
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- | Columba Col |
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C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) | 09h 30m 57s | +17° 58’ 53” | - | 15.97 |
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- | Leo Leo |
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C/2021 P4 (ATLAS) | 16h 29m 58s | -62° 28’ 46” | - | 15.99 |
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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 10m 52s | -31° 06’ 26” | 7.91 |
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Canis Majoris |
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4 Vesta | 22h 40m 25s | -15° 50’ 58” | 8.09 |
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Aquarius |
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1 Ceres | 12h 06m 11s | +10° 36’ 00” | 8.46 |
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Virgo |
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3 Juno | 23h 17m 52s | -11° 04’ 31” | 9.27 |
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Aquarius |
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324 Bamberga | 03h 07m 30s | +39° 10’ 57” | 9.54 |
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Perseus |
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6 Hebe | 08h 57m 33s | +08° 02’ 44” | 9.56 |
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Cancer |
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324 Dembowska | 04h 16m 17s | +29° 27’ 39” | 9.68 |
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Taurus |
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10 Hygiea | 17h 40m 21s | -24° 06’ 00” | 11.06 |
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Ophiucus |
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15 Eunomia | 16h 22m 24s | -28° 14’ 23” | 11.07 | Scorpius |
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8 Flora | 17h 06m 52s | -20° 33’ 17” | 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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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]