Highlights
- The Sun is in Leo, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Capricornus
- T CrB: magnitude
9.953 ± 0.024 [2024-09-15 03:49:07 UTC, CCD/V, CBIB/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
5.5 in Sextans - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.6 in Bootes - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
11.0 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RQ,
Sep 16 2024 at 10:37 UTC,524,289 km,1.36 lunar distances - Saturn is close to opposition
- Neptune is close to opposition
- Asteroid 17 Thetis is close to opposition
- Asteroid 20 Massalia 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 | 11h 35m 30s | +02° 38’ 37” | 1,908.4” | -26.73 | Leo | map my_location |
| Moon | 21h 35m 43s | -19° 23’ 25” | 1,964.2” | -11.93 | Capricornus | 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 | 10h 50m 17s | +09° 13’ 55” | 5.6” | -1.20 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 18m 10s | -07° 45’ 02” | 11.5” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 27m 59s | +23° 28’ 06” | 7.0” | 0.65 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 18m 33s | +22° 23’ 05” | 39.4” | -2.36 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 09m 50s | -07° 45’ 30” | 18.5” | 0.60 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 48s | +19° 15’ 56” | 3.7” | 5.70 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 09s | -01° 44’ 59” | 2.3” | 7.68 | 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.
5.6”
11.5”
7.0”
39.4”
18.5”
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 227 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 10h 37m 06s | -05° 30’ 11” | 5.5 | 8.03 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 14h 01m 44s | +11° 30’ 51” | 8.6 | 10.04 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 13h 07m 04s | -47° 40’ 12” | 11.0 | 13.18 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 24s | +46° 58’ 55” | 13.0 | 13.63 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 16h 59m 29s | -42° 46’ 04” | 13.3 | 14.60 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 47m 03s | -04° 40’ 32” | 13.5 | 15.88 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| 130P/McNaught-Hughes | 02h 43m 42s | +08° 19’ 47” | 13.8 | 17.15 | Cetus Cet | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 13h 00m 35s | +01° 22’ 15” | - | 14.62 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 19h 25m 05s | +50° 27’ 01” | 14.7 | 12.35 | Cygnus Cyg | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 11h 01m 12s | -64° 50’ 56” | - | 14.72 | Carina Car | 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 | 10h 53m 12s | +11° 21’ 36” | 8.09 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 40m 02s | -30° 44’ 19” | 8.69 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 30m 14s | -10° 30’ 32” | 8.93 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 23m 09s | +52° 10’ 28” | 9.50 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 22m 15s | +34° 45’ 21” | 9.57 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 37m 18s | +04° 31’ 26” | 9.78 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 25m 47s | +11° 52’ 34” | 10.22 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 51m 09s | +12° 20’ 34” | 10.33 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 41m 14s | -17° 45’ 02” | 10.43 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 52m 37s | +13° 52’ 30” | 10.93 | Taurus | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Taurids | 10 Oct | 02h 06m | +09° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| Daytime Sextantids | 27 Sep | 10h 05m | +00° | 5 | bright | map | ||
| September Epsilon Perseids | 9 Sep | 03h 12m | +40° | 5 | medium | map | ||