Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:55  
clear_day Transit: 12:49  
SunsetSet: 18:41 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now

Today's Highlights

  • The Sun is in the constellation of Virgo. The Moon is in the constellation of Pisces and it is in Full Moon phase.
  • Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is in the constellation of Virgo and its latest observed magnitude is 4.6. It should be barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
  • Comet 103P/Hartley is in the constellation of Auriga and its latest observed magnitude is 8.2. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 40-50mm aperture or a small telescope.
  • Comet ZTF (C/2020 V2) is in the constellation of Sculptor 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.
  • emoji_objectsCheck out the full list of visible Bright Comets
  • The next close approach with a Near Earth Object (NEO) will happen with Asteroid (NEO) 2022 UX1 on Oct 11 2023 at 13:53 UTC (12 days 13 hours 24 minutes), at an approach distance of 1,198,605 kilometers, or 3.12 lunar distances, and a relative speed of 8.58 kilometers per second.
  • The Moon is at opposition, current elongation 174.1°
  • Neptune is at opposition, current elongation 170.3°
  • Asteroid 29 Amphitrite is at opposition, current elongation 175.5°

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: Full Moon  Age: 13.90 days
Information about the Moon
Current Moon Sky Map
R.A. Decl. Apparent Diameter MagnitudeMag ConstellationConst Charts
radio_button_checked Sun 12h 19m 26s -02° 06’ 16” 1,915.1” -26.74 trending_flat Virgo location_searching map
radio_button_checked Moon 00h 02m 04s -02° 55’ 55” 1,986.4” -12.69 trending_down Pisces 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 09h 32m 30s +11° 08’ 06” 32.8” -4.71 trending_down Leo location_searching map
radio_button_checked Jupiter 02h 48m 54s +14° 46’ 58” 46.5” -2.79 trending_up Aries location_searching map
radio_button_checked Mercury 11h 24m 32s +05° 42’ 20” 6.0” -0.96 trending_up Leo location_searching map
radio_button_checked Saturn 22h 15m 42s -12° 41’ 53” 18.0” 0.58 trending_flat Aquarius location_searching map
radio_button_checked Mars 13h 17m 38s -07° 47’ 40” 3.7” 1.62 trending_up Virgo location_searching map
radio_button_checked Uranus 03h 20m 06s +18° 02’ 45” 3.7” 5.69 trending_flat Aries location_searching map
radio_button_checked Neptune 23h 46m 08s -02° 53’ 28” 2.3” 7.69 trending_flat Pisces 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

Apparent Size of the Planets 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. The image below shows a comparison between the apparent size of the planets if they were observed today.

Mercury
6.0”
Venus
32.8”
Mars
3.7”
Jupiter
46.5”
Saturn
18.0”
Uranus
3.7”
Neptune
2.3”

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

Additional Information

  • List of Bright Comets. This is a list of the bright comets that are currently visible, or that will likely become bright and visible in the future. To provide the most accurate information, the data about visibility and other visual features is updated several times every day.
  • List of Bright Asteroids. This list is similar to the list above, and provides constantly updated information about the brightest asteroids and dwarf planets visible in the sky.

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 Southern Taurids 10 Oct 02h 06m +09° 5 bright Comet Encke map
radio_button_checked Daytime Sextantids 27 Sep 10h 05m +00° 5 bright 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