Highlights
- The Sun is in Virgo, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Pisces
- T CrB: magnitude
10.322 ± 0.033 [2024-10-16 02:35:05 UTC, CCD/V, RGED/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
2.5 in Serpens - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
9.2 in Serpens - Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS):
magnitude
12.1 in Crater -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 TC15,
Oct 17 2024 at 20:48 UTC,1,837,351 km,4.78 lunar distances - The Moon is close to opposition
- Asteroid 10 Hygiea is close to opposition
- Asteroid 19 Fortuna is at opposition
- Asteroid 87 Sylvia 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 | 13h 26m 41s | -09° 05’ 48” | 1,925.0” | -26.75 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Moon | 00h 22m 12s | +01° 48’ 59” | 2,003.2” | -12.46 | Pisces | 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 | 14h 06m 22s | -13° 10’ 07” | 4.8” | -0.65 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Venus | 15h 42m 40s | -20° 46’ 17” | 13.1” | -3.95 | Libra | map my_location |
| Mars | 07h 37m 19s | +22° 29’ 06” | 8.2” | 0.23 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 22m 06s | +22° 25’ 48” | 43.3” | -2.57 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 02m 24s | -08° 30’ 18” | 18.1” | 0.72 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 36m 54s | +19° 06’ 09” | 3.7” | 5.65 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 54m 10s | -02° 04’ 28” | 2.3” | 7.69 | 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.
4.8”
13.1”
8.2”
43.3”
18.1”
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 228 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 15h 25m 39s | +00° 51’ 26” | 2.5 | 6.09 | Serpens Ser | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 15h 14m 40s | -00° 34’ 51” | 9.2 | 11.56 | Serpens Ser | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) | 11h 11m 10s | -18° 14’ 27” | 12.1 | 12.60 | Crater Crt | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 27m 12s | +55° 23’ 55” | 12.5 | 13.34 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 14h 23m 27s | -47° 37’ 49” | - | 14.48 | Lupus Lup | map my_location | ||
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 21h 11m 50s | -68° 43’ 14” | 14.5 | 15.83 | Pavo Pav | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 14h 27m 07s | -46° 16’ 17” | - | 14.54 | Lupus Lup | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 17h 54m 50s | -33° 16’ 18” | - | 14.77 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 B1 (Lemmon) | 13h 08m 08s | +45° 53’ 31” | - | 14.89 | Canes Venatici CVn | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 37m 45s | -05° 19’ 58” | 14.9 | 15.80 | 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 | 11h 48m 11s | +06° 13’ 26” | 8.16 | Virgo | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 22h 33m 47s | +28° 44’ 49” | 8.80 | Pegasus | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 19h 05m 08s | -29° 57’ 32” | 9.04 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 54m 36s | +35° 46’ 20” | 9.14 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 31m 42s | +09° 59’ 52” | 9.26 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 40m 16s | -10° 58’ 37” | 9.43 | Aquarius | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 10m 32s | +01° 28’ 33” | 9.75 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 50m 24s | +12° 40’ 29” | 10.32 | Taurus | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 59m 14s | +07° 26’ 06” | 10.36 | Ophiucus | map my_location | ||
| 10 Hygiea | 01h 45m 19s | +16° 27’ 23” | 10.50 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orionids | 21 Oct | 06h 17m | +16° | 15 | bright | 1P/Halley | map | |
| Southern Taurids | 10 Oct | 02h 06m | +09° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| Epsilon Geminids | 18 Oct | 06h 47m | +27° | 3 | medium | C/1964 N1 (Ikeya) | map | |
| Delta Aurigids | 11 Oct | 05h 35m | +44° | 2 | medium | map | ||