Welcome to your guide to the Solar System
- 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 year 2035 using our Online Planetarium.
- Discover our 3D Solar System Simulator
Quick links
- 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sun | 11h 51m 14s | +00° 56’ 52” | 1,910.8” | -26.73 | Virgo |
|
|
|
Moon | 05h 00m 51s | +20° 21’ 06” | 1,853.0” | -10.51 |
|
Taurus |
|
= 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Venus | 12h 30m 56s | -02° 03’ 24” | 9.9” | -3.88 | Virgo |
|
|
|
|
Jupiter | 17h 02m 10s | -22° 29’ 00” | 36.0” | -2.09 | Ophiucus |
|
|
|
|
Mercury | 12h 41m 35s | -04° 14’ 54” | 5.0” | -0.50 |
|
Virgo |
|
|
|
Saturn | 18h 59m 11s | -22° 32’ 31” | 16.5” | 1.31 | Sagittarius |
|
|
|
|
Mars | 11h 29m 54s | +04° 21’ 28” | 3.5” | 1.77 | Leo |
|
|
|
|
Uranus | 02h 14m 19s | +12° 56’ 17” | 3.7” | 5.70 | Aries |
|
|
|
|
Neptune | 23h 12m 50s | -06° 12’ 39” | 2.3” | 7.82 | Aquarius |
|
= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Current Planets Apparent Size Comparison
5.0”
9.9”
3.5”
36.0”
16.5”
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 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 (168)
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs | Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred | Coma DiameterComa Diam | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
C/2018 W2 (Africano) | 00h 48m 36s | +32° 23’ 47” | 9.4 | 10.68 |
|
6.5' | Pisces Psc |
|
|
|
260P/McNaught | 02h 44m 04s | +33° 34’ 07” | 12.5 | 13.54 | 0.9' | Triangulum Tri |
|
|
|
|
C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) | 02h 10m 50s | +29° 25’ 11” | - | 12.68 |
|
- | Triangulum Tri |
|
|
|
C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) | 05h 32m 33s | +25° 43’ 04” | - | 12.71 |
|
- | Taurus Tau |
|
|
|
168P/Hergenrother | 05h 57m 25s | +45° 43’ 30” | - | 14.63 |
|
- | Auriga Aur |
|
|
|
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 | 00h 49m 21s | +16° 02’ 51” | - | 14.75 | - | Pisces Psc |
|
|
|
|
C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) | 09h 46m 00s | -75° 37’ 55” | - | 15.00 |
|
- | Carina Car |
|
|
|
68P/Klemola | 18h 02m 29s | -12° 42’ 03” | - | 15.05 | - | Serpens Ser |
|
|
|
|
C/2017 B3 (LINEAR) | 23h 24m 10s | -44° 00’ 05” | - | 15.62 |
|
- | Grus Gru |
|
|
|
P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 20h 12m 54s | -35° 37’ 20” | - | 15.70 |
|
- | Sagittarius Sgr |
|
|
|
C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) | 13h 42m 00s | -44° 56’ 54” | - | 16.28 |
|
- | Centaurus Cen |
|
|
|
25D/Neujmin 2 | 12h 14m 06s | -04° 30’ 30” | - | 16.29 |
|
- | Virgo Vir |
|
|
|
C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) | 07h 04m 05s | -30° 47’ 20” | - | 16.45 | - | Canis Majoris CMa |
|
|
|
|
C/2019 K7 | 20h 20m 27s | -30° 33’ 18” | - | 16.47 | - | Sagittarius Sgr |
|
|
|
|
78P/Gehrels 2 | 08h 24m 41s | +14° 05’ 14” | - | 16.49 |
|
- | Cancer Cnc |
|
|
|
C/2019 K1 | 14h 55m 48s | -41° 36’ 46” | - | 16.61 |
|
- | Centaurus Cen |
|
|
|
C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS) | 11h 36m 50s | -60° 10’ 58” | - | 16.70 | - | Centaurus Cen |
|
|
|
|
C/2019 K5 | 03h 31m 15s | +05° 58’ 55” | - | 16.79 |
|
- | Taurus Tau |
|
|
|
C/2018 R3 (Lemmon) | 10h 28m 56s | +05° 18’ 53” | - | 16.93 |
|
- | Sextans Sex |
|
|
|
C/2019 K4 | 00h 03m 43s | +06° 09’ 27” | - | 17.30 |
|
- | Pisces Psc |
|
= 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 (76)
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
4 Vesta | 03h 48m 28s | +10° 54’ 01” | 7.37 |
|
Taurus |
|
|
|
15 Eunomia | 20h 49m 22s | -06° 07’ 21” | 8.87 |
|
Aquarius |
|
|
|
1 Ceres | 16h 35m 50s | -23° 52’ 31” | 9.01 |
|
Ophiucus |
|
|
|
29 Amphitrite | 01h 25m 55s | +12° 12’ 36” | 9.26 |
|
Pisces |
|
|
|
9 Metis | 02h 31m 55s | +07° 43’ 36” | 9.51 |
|
Cetus |
|
|
|
2 Pallas | 15h 01m 10s | +10° 01’ 23” | 10.05 | Bootes |
|
|
|
|
16 Psyche | 20h 40m 08s | -17° 55’ 43” | 10.26 |
|
Capricornus |
|
|
|
18 Melpomene | 18h 25m 00s | -17° 50’ 50” | 10.30 |
|
Sagittarius |
|
|
|
3 Juno | 10h 50m 30s | +04° 54’ 13” | 10.51 |
|
Sextans |
|
|
|
14 Irene | 02h 03m 51s | -00° 15’ 25” | 10.97 |
|
Cetus |
|
= 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Southern Taurids | 10 Oct | 02h 05m | +09° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke |
|
|
|
Daytime Sextantids | 27 Sep | 10h 06m | +00° | 5 | bright |
|
|
|
|
September Epsilon Perseids | 9 Sep | 03h 12m | +40° | 5 | medium |
|
|
= current altitude ≥ 30°
= current altitude < 30°
= below the horizonLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]