Highlights
- The Sun is in Virgo, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Aquarius
- T CrB: magnitude
9.879 ± 0.003 [2024-09-16 10:37:44 UTC, CCD/CV, IDG/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
4.6 in Sextans - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.7 in Bootes - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
11.0 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 ON,
Sep 17 2024 at 10:19 UTC,1,000,052 km,2.60 lunar distances - Saturn is close to opposition
- Neptune is at 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 38m 55s | +02° 16’ 36” | 1,908.9” | -26.73 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Moon | 22h 29m 01s | -13° 34’ 10” | 1,986.2” | -12.30 | 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 | 10h 56m 45s | +08° 37’ 53” | 5.5” | -1.24 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 22m 27s | -08° 13’ 24” | 11.6” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 30m 22s | +23° 27’ 38” | 7.0” | 0.66 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 18m 51s | +22° 23’ 22” | 39.5” | -2.36 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 09m 34s | -07° 47’ 11” | 18.5” | 0.61 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 44s | +19° 15’ 46” | 3.7” | 5.70 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 04s | -01° 45’ 37” | 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.
5.5”
11.6”
7.0”
39.5”
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 36m 46s | -05° 37’ 07” | 4.6 | 7.91 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 14h 04m 18s | +11° 04’ 18” | 8.7 | 10.09 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 13h 09m 46s | -47° 40’ 19” | 11.0 | 13.22 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 27s | +47° 11’ 37” | 13.0 | 13.62 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 46m 40s | -04° 42’ 10” | 13.5 | 15.88 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| 130P/McNaught-Hughes | 02h 43m 29s | +08° 18’ 50” | 13.8 | 17.16 | Cetus Cet | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 17h 01m 09s | -42° 27’ 08” | - | 14.61 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 13h 04m 43s | +01° 15’ 49” | - | 14.66 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 19h 25m 35s | +50° 11’ 15” | 14.7 | 12.38 | Cygnus Cyg | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 11h 05m 43s | -64° 48’ 47” | - | 14.73 | 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 54m 56s | +11° 12’ 14” | 8.10 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 40m 33s | -30° 43’ 23” | 8.70 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 30m 04s | -10° 32’ 46” | 8.95 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 26m 26s | +51° 50’ 04” | 9.47 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 23m 38s | +34° 48’ 03” | 9.56 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 36m 33s | +04° 26’ 22” | 9.75 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 26m 41s | +11° 43’ 13” | 10.22 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 50m 54s | +12° 18’ 29” | 10.30 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 41m 04s | -17° 46’ 51” | 10.44 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 52m 59s | +13° 51’ 24” | 10.91 | 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 | ||