Highlights
- The Sun is in Ophiuchus, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Pisces
- T CrB: magnitude
11.176 ± 0.007 [2024-12-09 06:28:11 UTC, CCD/B, DFS/AAVSO] - Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS):
magnitude
8.9 in Scorpius - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
9.1 in Aquila - Comet 333P/LINEAR:
magnitude
11.4 in Draco -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 WV51,
Dec 9 2024 at 14:46 UTC,697,546 km,1.81 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 | 17h 07m 16s | -22° 53’ 07” | 1,948.3” | -26.78 | Ophiuchus | map my_location |
| Moon | 23h 57m 27s | -01° 45’ 42” | 1,936.3” | -10.62 | 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 | 16h 35m 15s | -19° 42’ 21” | 9.6” | 3.01 | Ophiuchus | map my_location |
| Venus | 20h 21m 35s | -21° 53’ 41” | 18.2” | -4.24 | Capricornus | map my_location |
| Mars | 08h 37m 07s | +21° 34’ 44” | 12.4” | -0.66 | Cancer | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 04h 59m 37s | +22° 02’ 26” | 47.1” | -2.81 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 01m 11s | -08° 28’ 54” | 16.6” | 0.98 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 28m 08s | +18° 36’ 05” | 3.7” | 5.64 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 51m 31s | -02° 19’ 58” | 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.
9.6”
18.2”
12.4”
47.1”
16.6”
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 229 comets).
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (COBS)Mag Obs | Magnitude (JPL)Mag Pred | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 16h 16m 33s | -39° 07’ 27” | 8.9 | 10.91 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 19h 19m 34s | +04° 53’ 57” | 9.1 | 11.60 | Aquila Aql | map my_location | ||
| 333P/LINEAR | 14h 42m 27s | +62° 10’ 32” | 11.4 | 14.04 | Draco Dra | map my_location | ||
| 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann | 10h 14m 08s | +08° 56’ 33” | 11.8 | 17.54 | Leo Leo | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 03h 59m 26s | +68° 17’ 17” | 12.7 | 13.12 | Camelopardalis Cam | map my_location | ||
| C/2024 B1 (Lemmon) | 16h 21m 18s | +26° 04’ 11” | 13.3 | 15.90 | Hercules Her | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 16h 54m 21s | -12° 46’ 32” | - | 13.74 | Ophiuchus Oph | map my_location | ||
| P/2010 H2 (Vales) | 13h 05m 01s | +06° 25’ 25” | - | 14.56 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 49m 21s | -04° 02’ 47” | 15.0 | 15.87 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| 130P/McNaught-Hughes | 01h 50m 14s | +07° 24’ 43” | 15.1 | 18.45 | Pisces Psc | 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 21m 57s | -02° 13’ 28” | 7.99 | Virgo | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 30m 59s | +34° 19’ 14” | 8.13 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 20h 18m 34s | -26° 49’ 32” | 9.28 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 21h 55m 04s | -07° 06’ 09” | 9.90 | Aquarius | map my_location | ||
| 13 Egeria | 04h 21m 22s | +35° 32’ 09” | 10.19 | Perseus | map my_location | ||
| 14 Irene | 07h 21m 38s | +24° 46’ 13” | 10.28 | Gemini | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 04m 03s | +10° 20’ 21” | 10.39 | Cetus | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 18h 12m 05s | +03° 11’ 45” | 10.40 | Ophiuchus | map my_location | ||
| 29 Amphitrite | 10h 17m 13s | +16° 44’ 52” | 10.44 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 6 Hebe | 17h 16m 49s | -13° 50’ 04” | 10.72 | Ophiuchus | 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 | |