Highlights
- The Sun is in Leo, the Moon is Waxing Crescent in Scorpius
- T CrB: magnitude
9.899 ± 0.003 [2024-09-10 10:50:23 UTC, CCD/CV, IDG/AAVSO] -
Mercury is in favorable conditions for morning observations with a solar elongation of
16.4° (sky map) - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.1 in Bootes - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
8.59 in Sextans - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
10.6 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RY3,
Sep 11 2024 at 03:00 UTC,1,351,059 km,3.51 lunar distances - Saturn is at opposition
- Neptune is close to opposition
- Asteroid 17 Thetis 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 17m 42s | +04° 32’ 38” | 1,905.9” | -26.73 | Leo | map my_location |
| Moon | 16h 40m 56s | -27° 57’ 45” | 1,819.8” | -9.82 | Scorpius | 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 18m 10s | +11° 48’ 21” | 6.2” | -0.86 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 12h 55m 56s | -05° 15’ 00” | 11.3” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 15m 23s | +23° 28’ 37” | 6.8” | 0.65 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 16m 48s | +22° 21’ 26” | 38.8” | -2.32 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 11m 14s | -07° 36’ 34” | 18.5” | 0.58 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 59s | +19° 16’ 36” | 3.6” | 5.71 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 39s | -01° 41’ 42” | 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.
6.2”
11.3”
6.8”
38.8”
18.5”
3.6”
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13P/Olbers | 13h 47m 56s | +13° 53’ 18” | 8.1 | 9.79 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 10h 39m 26s | -04° 50’ 02” | - | 8.59 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 12h 52m 35s | -47° 38’ 59” | 10.6 | 12.93 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 38m 53s | +45° 55’ 36” | 12.8 | 13.67 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 49m 07s | -04° 31’ 54” | 13.5 | 15.91 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 16h 50m 45s | -44° 26’ 19” | 13.8 | 14.58 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 22h 25m 13s | -70° 41’ 53” | 14.4 | 15.43 | Indus Ind | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 12h 38m 28s | +01° 55’ 59” | - | 14.46 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 10h 36m 48s | -64° 57’ 52” | - | 14.66 | Carina Car | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 L2 (ATLAS) | 09h 55m 43s | -26° 25’ 40” | - | 14.72 | Hydra Hya | 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 44m 12s | +12° 10’ 11” | 8.07 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 37m 45s | -30° 48’ 39” | 8.61 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 31m 35s | -10° 17’ 45” | 8.84 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 14m 48s | +34° 30’ 13” | 9.63 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 07m 30s | +53° 37’ 57” | 9.63 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 40m 59s | +04° 56’ 00” | 9.92 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 21m 11s | +12° 42’ 19” | 10.18 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 42m 26s | -17° 33’ 57” | 10.33 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 52m 01s | +12° 28’ 39” | 10.47 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 50m 21s | +13° 56’ 48” | 11.01 | 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 | ||