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- NEW! Check out all the known upcoming close approaches between Earth and NEO (Near Earth Object) Asteroids.
- Find key 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 year 2035 using our Online Planetarium.
- Discover our 3D Solar System Simulator
Quick links to data you can find in this page:
- Popular Objects
- Current Solar System Configuration
- The Sun and The Moon Today
- The Planets Today
- Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
- Brightest Comets Visible Today
- Brightest Asteroids Visible Today
- Active Meteor Showers Visible Today
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!
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 | 21h 59m 52s | -12° 14’ 27” | 1,942.2” | -26.77 | Aquarius |
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Moon | 07h 28m 32s | +21° 21’ 09” | 1,979.3” | -11.90 |
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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 | 19h 03m 39s | -21° 00’ 11” | 16.9” | -4.19 |
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Sagittarius |
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Jupiter | 17h 16m 53s | -22° 26’ 37” | 34.2” | -1.96 |
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Ophiucus |
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Mercury | 22h 52m 46s | -07° 54’ 05” | 5.7” | -1.10 |
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Aquarius |
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Mars | 01h 56m 33s | +12° 28’ 09” | 5.6” | 1.06 |
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Aries |
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Saturn | 19h 10m 46s | -21° 59’ 52” | 14.9” | 1.46 | Sagittarius |
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Uranus | 01h 48m 46s | +10° 39’ 47” | 3.4” | 5.85 | Aries |
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Neptune | 23h 07m 05s | -06° 42’ 22” | 2.2” | 7.96 | Aquarius |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
5.7”
16.9”
5.6”
34.2”
14.9”
3.4”
2.2”
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 (144)
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs | Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred | Coma DiameterComa Diam | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) | 08h 10m 25s | +29° 49’ 44” | 6.5 | 10.99 |
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19.2' | Cancer Cnc |
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46P/Wirtanen | 09h 33m 39s | +49° 51’ 10” | 8.8 | 15.85 |
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8.5' | Ursa Major UMa |
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38P/Stephan-Oterma | 08h 26m 31s | +47° 13’ 47” | - | 12.78 |
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- | Lynx Lyn |
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78P/Gehrels 2 | 00h 25m 07s | +03° 13’ 51” | - | 13.02 | - | Pisces Psc |
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C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) | 03h 19m 54s | -67° 43’ 59” | - | 14.12 |
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- | Hydrus Hyi |
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C/2016 N6 (PANSTARRS) | 05h 53m 31s | -22° 05’ 46” | - | 14.43 |
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- | Lepus Lep |
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C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) | 01h 10m 02s | -21° 34’ 58” | - | 14.68 | - | Cetus Cet |
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60P/Tsuchinshan 2 | 11h 45m 48s | -06° 25’ 25” | - | 14.77 |
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- | Virgo Vir |
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C/2018 L2 (ATLAS) | 21h 31m 04s | +34° 28’ 29” | - | 14.85 |
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- | Cygnus Cyg |
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C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) | 17h 31m 30s | -18° 35’ 34” | - | 15.07 |
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- | Ophiucus Oph |
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C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) | 10h 17m 31s | -57° 21’ 38” | - | 15.27 |
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- | Carina Car |
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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 23h 28m 47s | +03° 02’ 20” | - | 15.33 |
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- | Pisces Psc |
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C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) | 04h 13m 20s | +68° 42’ 49” | - | 15.47 |
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- | Camelopardalis Cam |
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C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 16h 03m 09s | +43° 49’ 37” | - | 15.52 |
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- | Hercules Her |
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C/2017 B3 (LINEAR) | 21h 56m 51s | -57° 43’ 26” | - | 15.63 | - | Indus Ind |
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P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 19h 40m 20s | -29° 02’ 43” | - | 15.83 | - | Sagittarius Sgr |
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C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) | 10h 16m 27s | +44° 19’ 09” | - | 15.84 |
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- | Ursa Major UMa |
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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) | 02h 59m 30s | +00° 24’ 44” | - | 15.87 |
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- | Cetus Cet |
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C/2018 W2 (Africano) | 14h 48m 49s | +77° 44’ 02” | - | 16.52 |
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- | Ursa Minor UMi |
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240P/NEAT | 11h 08m 26s | +42° 08’ 26” | - | 16.62 |
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- | Ursa Major UMa |
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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 dward planets (68)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
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4 Vesta | 22h 43m 08s | -12° 44’ 04” | 7.94 | Aquarius |
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2 Pallas | 14h 07m 42s | +01° 32’ 05” | 8.40 |
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Virgo |
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1 Ceres | 16h 22m 57s | -15° 14’ 12” | 8.68 | Scorpius |
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3 Juno | 04h 11m 02s | +05° 40’ 34” | 9.10 |
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Taurus |
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6 Hebe | 05h 57m 17s | +13° 33’ 01” | 9.59 |
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Orion |
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433 Eros | 05h 54m 13s | +12° 54’ 25” | 9.81 |
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Orion |
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7 Iris | 13h 15m 18s | -15° 34’ 19” | 10.20 |
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Virgo |
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324 Dembowska | 11h 04m 31s | +16° 40’ 41” | 10.37 |
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Leo |
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15 Eunomia | 19h 32m 38s | -24° 05’ 05” | 10.85 | Sagittarius |
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29 Amphitrite | 21h 39m 20s | -16° 50’ 29” | 10.92 |
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Capricornus |
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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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Alpha Centaurids | 8 Feb | 14h 00m | -59° | 6 | bright |
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= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]