Highlights
- The Sun is in Leo, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Sagittarius
- T CrB: magnitude
11.238 ± 0.009 [2024-09-12 02:40:42 UTC, CCD/B, PMIF/AAVSO] -
Mercury is in favorable conditions for morning observations with a solar elongation of
15.4° (sky map) - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
8.41 in Sextans - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.7 in Bootes - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
10.6 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RB11,
Sep 13 2024 at 20:19 UTC,1,851,094 km,4.81 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 23m 38s | +03° 54’ 48” | 1,906.7” | -26.73 | Leo | map my_location |
| Moon | 18h 18m 12s | -29° 04’ 08” | 1,863.6” | -10.58 | Sagittarius | 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 28m 28s | +11° 04’ 00” | 6.0” | -0.99 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 03m 20s | -06° 05’ 21” | 11.4” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 19m 37s | +23° 28’ 52” | 6.9” | 0.65 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 17m 24s | +22° 22’ 03” | 39.0” | -2.33 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 10m 46s | -07° 39’ 34” | 18.5” | 0.59 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 56s | +19° 16’ 24” | 3.7” | 5.70 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 30s | -01° 42’ 47” | 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.
6.0”
11.4”
6.9”
39.0”
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 38m 35s | -05° 03’ 58” | - | 8.41 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 13h 52m 36s | +13° 05’ 06” | 8.7 | 9.87 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 12h 57m 30s | -47° 39’ 31” | 10.6 | 13.01 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 48m 24s | -04° 34’ 47” | 13.5 | 15.90 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 06s | +46° 16’ 12” | 13.6 | 13.66 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 16h 53m 39s | -43° 52’ 36” | 13.8 | 14.58 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 22h 20m 35s | -70° 43’ 20” | 14.4 | 15.45 | Indus Ind | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 12h 45m 55s | +01° 44’ 42” | - | 14.51 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 10h 45m 05s | -64° 56’ 27” | - | 14.67 | Carina Car | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 L2 (ATLAS) | 09h 55m 56s | -26° 38’ 26” | - | 14.73 | 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 47m 12s | +11° 54’ 04” | 8.07 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 38m 27s | -30° 47’ 16” | 8.64 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 31m 02s | -10° 22’ 11” | 8.87 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 12m 25s | +53° 11’ 51” | 9.58 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 17m 20s | +34° 35’ 30” | 9.62 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 39m 49s | +04° 48’ 10” | 9.87 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 22m 42s | +12° 25’ 33” | 10.19 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 41m 58s | -17° 37’ 55” | 10.37 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 51m 48s | +12° 26’ 29” | 10.42 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 51m 11s | +13° 55’ 38” | 10.98 | 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 | ||