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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?

Today's Highlights

  • 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/2023 H2 (Lemmon) is in the constellation of Grus and its latest observed magnitude is 8.6. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
  • Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan is in the constellation of Leo and its latest observed magnitude is 9.0. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
  • Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is in the constellation of Lyra and its latest observed magnitude is 9.2. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
  • The next close approach with a Near Earth Object (NEO) will happen with Asteroid (NEO) 2020 YO3 on Dec 23 2023 at 20:28 UTC (22 days 14 hours 10 minutes), at an approach distance of 1,363,898 kilometers, or 3.55 lunar distances, and a relative speed of 16.62 kilometers per second.
  • Uranus is at opposition, current elongation 161.6°

Popular Objects This Week

Popular objects this week

The Solar System Today

This interactive 3D view shows the current positions of the major bodies of the Solar System and the brightest comets. For more advanced features, check out our 3D Solar System Viewer.

Animate view
Left-click and drag to change the viewing angles; Right-click and drag to pan; Pinch or mouse-wheel to zoom.
View larger 3D Solar System Simulator

The Sun and the Moon Today

Here is how the Sun and the Moon look like today.

Credit: NASA, SDO, and the HMI Science Team
Information about the Sun
Current Sun Sky Map
Phase: Waning Gibbous  Age: 18.09 days
Information about the Moon
Current Moon Sky Map
R.A. Decl. Apparent Diameter MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Charts
radio_button_checked Sun 16h 26m 50s -21° 42’ 44” 1,945.8” -26.77 trending_flat Ophiucus location_searching map
radio_button_checked Moon 07h 48m 11s +25° 45’ 06” 1,805.2” -11.45 trending_down Gemini map
radio_button_checked Current altitude ≥ 30°   radio_button_checked Current altitude < 30°   radio_button_checked Below the horizon
 From: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

The Planets Today

This table shows current essential information about the planets. By clicking on each row it is possible to view full details for each planet.

Planet R.A. Decl. Apparent Diameter MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Charts
radio_button_checked Venus 13h 37m 52s -07° 52’ 05” 17.1” -4.19 trending_down Virgo location_searching map
radio_button_checked Jupiter 02h 19m 25s +12° 30’ 15” 46.9” -2.82 trending_down Aries location_searching map
radio_button_checked Mercury 17h 56m 42s -25° 50’ 39” 6.2” -0.42 trending_down Sagittarius location_searching map
radio_button_checked Saturn 22h 13m 52s -12° 45’ 28” 16.3” 0.86 trending_down Aquarius location_searching map
radio_button_checked Mars 16h 10m 09s -21° 17’ 22” 3.7” 1.38 trending_flat Scorpius location_searching map
radio_button_checked Uranus 03h 10m 37s +17° 26’ 15” 3.7” 5.66 trending_flat Aries location_searching map
radio_button_checked Neptune 23h 42m 00s -03° 18’ 44” 2.3” 7.74 trending_flat Aquarius location_searching map
radio_button_checked Current altitude ≥ 30°   radio_button_checked Current altitude < 30°   radio_button_checked Below the horizon
 From: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

The image below shows the current position of the 4 Galilean satellites of Jupiter. A page dedicated to Jupiter's moons is available, with more advanced features.

Current positions of Jupiter's Galilean moons

The image below shows the current inclination of the rings of Saturn and the positions of its major satellites. A page dedicated to the system of Saturn is available, with more advanced features.

Current inclination of Saturn's rings and position of its major moons

The image below shows a comparison between the apparent size of the planets as they appear today. The apparent size of a planet depends on its size and the distance from Earth. The larger the distance, the smaller the apparent size.

Mercury
6.2”
Venus
17.1”
Mars
3.7”
Jupiter
46.9”
Saturn
16.3”
Uranus
3.7”
Neptune
2.3”

Credits for the planet images: NASA-APL - NASA.

Top 10 Brightest Comets

This is a list of the brightest comets currently visible in the sky. A more extensive list of (233) bright and interesting comets is available on the site, please check it out.

Comet R.A. Decl. Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred Coma DiameterComa Diam ConstellationConst Charts
radio_button_checked C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) 22h 16m 49s -37° 34’ 51” 8.6 9.94 2.4' Grus Gru location_searching map
radio_button_checked 62P/Tsuchinshan 09h 43m 38s +18° 26’ 15” 9.0 10.36 17.0' Leo Leo location_searching map
radio_button_checked 12P/Pons-Brooks 18h 26m 32s +38° 38’ 48” 9.2 12.74 4.0' Lyra Lyr location_searching map
radio_button_checked 103P/Hartley 09h 04m 50s -09° 07’ 34” 10.0 15.13 9.0' Hydra Hya location_searching map
radio_button_checked C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) 13h 01m 21s -39° 56’ 36” 11.2 9.30 2.0' Centaurus Cen location_searching map
radio_button_checked C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) 13h 04m 38s -44° 58’ 44” 11.5 15.95 2.0' Centaurus Cen location_searching map
radio_button_checked C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) 06h 10m 49s -06° 32’ 54” 12.0 14.70 1.0' Monoceros Mon location_searching map
radio_button_checked C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) 14h 45m 38s -05° 55’ 33” 14.5 15.80 0.0' Virgo Vir location_searching map
radio_button_checked 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 08h 43m 28s +20° 28’ 45” 15.0 17.39 0.9' Cancer Cnc location_searching map
radio_button_checked 144P/Kushida 02h 48m 10s +16° 48’ 31” 16.0 14.03 0.0' Aries Ari location_searching map
radio_button_checked Current altitude ≥ 30°   radio_button_checked Current altitude < 30°   radio_button_checked Below the horizon
 From: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

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 Visible Today

This is a list of the top 10 brightest asteroids visible tonight. Click on each line to go to the asteroids's detail page. You can also check the full list of tracked asteroids and dwarf planets (79).

Asteroid R.A. Decl. MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Charts
radio_button_checked 4 Vesta 06h 18m 04s +19° 42’ 51” 6.85 Orion location_searching map
radio_button_checked 1 Ceres 16h 02m 56s -17° 56’ 22” 8.64 Scorpius location_searching map
radio_button_checked 18 Melpomene 02h 49m 08s -04° 23’ 40” 8.65 Eridanus location_searching map
radio_button_checked 9 Metis 06h 23m 57s +25° 47’ 30” 8.98 Gemini location_searching map
radio_button_checked 2 Pallas 14h 29m 04s +00° 26’ 40” 9.54 Virgo location_searching map
radio_button_checked 3 Juno 10h 55m 55s -00° 14’ 42” 9.81 Leo location_searching map
radio_button_checked 8 Flora 22h 52m 07s -14° 35’ 57” 10.14 Aquarius location_searching map
radio_button_checked 29 Amphitrite 00h 03m 15s +04° 30’ 47” 10.17 Pisces location_searching map
radio_button_checked 5 Astraea 06h 44m 32s +15° 45’ 46” 10.19 Gemini location_searching map
radio_button_checked 15 Eunomia 20h 08m 35s -15° 30’ 49” 10.45 Capricornus location_searching map
radio_button_checked Current altitude ≥ 30°   radio_button_checked Current altitude < 30°   radio_button_checked Below the horizon
 From: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Active Meteor Showers Visible 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. The data used here is derived from Wikipedia.

Name Peak Radiant R.A. Radiant Decl. ZHR Rating Parent Object Charts
radio_button_checked Puppid-Velids multiple 08h 11m -45° 10 medium map
radio_button_checked Northern Taurids 12 Nov 03h 53m +22° 5 bright Comet Encke map
radio_button_checked November Orionids 28 Nov 06h 05m +16° 3 medium map
radio_button_checked Phoenicids 2 Dec 01h 11m -53° variable medium 289P/Blanpain map
radio_button_checked Current altitude ≥ 30°   radio_button_checked Current altitude < 30°   radio_button_checked Below the horizon
 From: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt