Highlights
- The Sun is in Ophiuchus, the Moon is Waxing Crescent in Aquarius
- T CrB: magnitude
11.001 ± 0.033 [2024-12-06 22:53:33 UTC, CCD/B, DEY/AAVSO] - Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS):
magnitude
9.1 in Scorpius - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
9.5 in Aquila - Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann:
magnitude
11.3 in Leo -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 XE6,
Dec 7 2024 at 18:02 UTC,1,235,784 km,3.21 lunar distances - Jupiter is at opposition
- Asteroid 13 Egeria is close to opposition
- Asteroid 15 Eunomia 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 | 16h 59m 38s | -22° 42’ 47” | 1,947.9” | -26.78 | Ophiuchus | map my_location |
| Moon | 22h 28m 17s | -13° 07’ 18” | 1,909.9” | -9.74 | Aquarius | 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 | 16h 44m 03s | -20° 24’ 42” | 9.8” | 4.68 | Ophiuchus | map my_location |
| Venus | 20h 13m 10s | -22° 22’ 20” | 18.0” | -4.22 | Capricornus | map my_location |
| Mars | 08h 37m 12s | +21° 29’ 29” | 12.2” | -0.63 | Cancer | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 00m 38s | +22° 03’ 39” | 47.1” | -2.81 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 00m 55s | -08° 30’ 47” | 16.7” | 0.97 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 28m 25s | +18° 37’ 01” | 3.8” | 5.64 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 51m 31s | -02° 20’ 02” | 2.3” | 7.74 | 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.
9.8”
18.0”
12.2”
47.1”
16.7”
3.8”
2.3”
Credits for the planet images: NASA-APL - NASA.
Brightest Comets
List of the 10 brightest comets (open the full list of 229 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 16h 11m 56s | -39° 29’ 38” | 9.1 | 11.10 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 19h 17m 29s | +04° 48’ 50” | 9.5 | 11.52 | Aquila Aql | map my_location | ||
| 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann | 10h 14m 03s | +08° 58’ 47” | 11.3 | 17.55 | Leo Leo | map my_location | ||
| 333P/LINEAR | 13h 58m 13s | +58° 15’ 13” | 11.7 | 14.04 | Ursa Major UMa | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 04h 09m 49s | +68° 24’ 52” | 13.1 | 13.11 | Camelopardalis Cam | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 B1 (Lemmon) | 16h 17m 19s | +26° 35’ 33” | 13.3 | 15.85 | Hercules Her | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 16h 51m 32s | -12° 31’ 06” | - | 13.67 | Ophiuchus Oph | map my_location | ||
| 37P/Forbes | 19h 51m 48s | -20° 37’ 44” | 13.8 | 17.15 | Sagittarius Sgr | map my_location | ||
| P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 13h 03m 02s | +06° 34’ 41” | - | 14.57 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 48m 22s | -04° 08’ 49” | 15.0 | 15.87 | Aquarius Aqr | 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 | 13h 19m 04s | -01° 59’ 24” | 7.99 | Virgo | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 33m 01s | +34° 29’ 27” | 8.14 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 20h 15m 53s | -26° 58’ 02” | 9.28 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 21h 51m 58s | -07° 19’ 28” | 9.90 | Aquarius | map my_location | ||
| 13 Egeria | 04h 23m 37s | +35° 26’ 41” | 10.17 | Perseus | map my_location | ||
| 14 Irene | 07h 22m 39s | +24° 36’ 39” | 10.33 | Gemini | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 05m 10s | +10° 20’ 24” | 10.34 | Cetus | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 18h 09m 35s | +03° 15’ 10” | 10.40 | Ophiuchus | map my_location | ||
| 29 Amphitrite | 10h 16m 17s | +16° 48’ 36” | 10.47 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 05m 37s | +00° 36’ 55” | 10.71 | Pisces | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geminids | 14 Dec | 07h 30m | +33° | 120 | medium | 3200 Phaethon | map | |
| Puppid-Velids | multiple | 08h 11m | -45° | 10 | medium | map | ||
| Northern Taurids | 12 Nov | 03h 53m | +22° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| Dec. Leonis Minorids | 20 Dec | 10h 41m | +30° | 5 | medium | map | ||
| Sigma Hydrids | 11 Dec | 08h 30m | +02° | 3 | medium | map | ||
| Monocerotids | 8 Dec | 06h 42m | +08° | 2 | medium | C/1917 F1 (Mellish) | map | |
| Phoenicids | 2 Dec | 01h 11m | -53° | variable | medium | 289P/Blanpain | map | |