Highlights
- The Sun is in Virgo, the Moon is Waxing Crescent in Ophiucus
- T CrB: magnitude
11.369 ± 0.078 [2024-10-08 02:53:31 UTC, CCD/B, RGED/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
-1.8 in Virgo - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
9.8 in Virgo - Comet C/2022 E2 (ATLAS):
magnitude
12.7 in Lynx -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 SN8,
Oct 8 2024 at 06:31 UTC,1,240,768 km,3.23 lunar distances - Neptune is close to opposition
- Asteroid 10 Hygiea is close to opposition
- Asteroid 17 Thetis is close to opposition
- Asteroid 19 Fortuna is close to opposition
- Asteroid 20 Massalia is close to opposition
- Asteroid 87 Sylvia 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 | 12h 56m 58s | -06° 05’ 20” | 1,920.5” | -26.74 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Moon | 16h 56m 34s | -27° 58’ 44” | 1,809.2” | -8.73 | Ophiucus | 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 | 13h 18m 05s | -07° 38’ 21” | 4.7” | -1.06 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Venus | 15h 03m 07s | -17° 55’ 23” | 12.6” | -3.93 | Libra | map my_location |
| Mars | 07h 20m 45s | +22° 51’ 04” | 7.9” | 0.33 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 22m 27s | +22° 26’ 13” | 42.2” | -2.52 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 04m 02s | -08° 20’ 55” | 18.3” | 0.69 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 37m 54s | +19° 09’ 34” | 3.7” | 5.66 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 54m 54s | -01° 59’ 42” | 2.3” | 7.69 | 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.
4.7”
12.6”
7.9”
42.2”
18.3”
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 228 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 12h 35m 31s | -03° 42’ 57” | -1.8 | 6.00 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 14h 57m 07s | +02° 10’ 07” | 9.8 | 11.17 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 33m 57s | +52° 51’ 46” | 12.7 | 13.41 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) | 10h 02m 18s | -15° 22’ 55” | 13.1 | 14.47 | Hydra Hya | map my_location | ||
| 154P/Brewington | 08h 50m 06s | +33° 49’ 44” | 13.7 | 17.52 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 14h 05m 13s | -47° 38’ 32” | - | 14.16 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 19h 41m 15s | +44° 22’ 16” | 14.4 | 12.89 | Cygnus Cyg | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 39m 22s | -05° 13’ 28” | 14.7 | 15.81 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 17h 40m 07s | -35° 38’ 52” | - | 14.72 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 14h 14m 28s | -47° 15’ 34” | - | 14.84 | Centaurus Cen | 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 | 11h 33m 51s | +07° 34’ 58” | 8.15 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 21h 57m 38s | +37° 21’ 38” | 8.88 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 56m 56s | -30° 13’ 18” | 8.97 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 48m 48s | +35° 35’ 06” | 9.27 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 34m 42s | -11° 01’ 09” | 9.31 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 17m 16s | +02° 15’ 28” | 9.57 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 38m 28s | +10° 48’ 18” | 9.62 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 49m 41s | +08° 28’ 36” | 10.33 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 53m 48s | +13° 05’ 52” | 10.49 | Taurus | map my_location | ||
| 10 Hygiea | 01h 51m 18s | +16° 59’ 04” | 10.65 | Aries | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orionids | 21 Oct | 06h 17m | +16° | 15 | bright | 1P/Halley | map | |
| Southern Taurids | 10 Oct | 02h 06m | +09° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| Daytime Sextantids | 27 Sep | 10h 05m | +00° | 5 | bright | map | ||
| Draconids | 8 Oct | 17h 30m | +54° | variable | medium | 21P/Giacobini-Zinner | map | |