Highlights
- The Sun is in Leo, the Moon is First Quarter in Ophiucus
- T CrB: magnitude
9.908 ± 0.003 [2024-09-11 11:06:05 UTC, CCD/CV, IDG/AAVSO] -
Mercury is in favorable conditions for morning observations with a solar elongation of
15.9° (sky map) - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.1 in Bootes - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
8.48 in Sextans - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
10.6 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RL8,
Sep 11 2024 at 22:39 UTC,429,432 km,1.12 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 21m 08s | +04° 10’ 46” | 1,906.4” | -26.73 | Leo | map my_location |
| Moon | 17h 36m 31s | -29° 22’ 46” | 1,843.9” | -10.27 | Ophiucus | 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 24m 03s | +11° 23’ 39” | 6.1” | -0.94 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 00m 12s | -05° 44’ 10” | 11.4” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 17m 50s | +23° 28’ 47” | 6.8” | 0.65 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 17m 09s | +22° 21’ 47” | 38.9” | -2.33 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 10m 58s | -07° 38’ 18” | 18.5” | 0.59 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 57s | +19° 16’ 29” | 3.6” | 5.70 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 34s | -01° 42’ 19” | 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.
6.1”
11.4”
6.8”
38.9”
18.5”
3.6”
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13P/Olbers | 13h 50m 39s | +13° 25’ 20” | 8.1 | 9.83 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 10h 38m 56s | -04° 58’ 09” | - | 8.48 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 12h 55m 26s | -47° 39’ 19” | 10.6 | 12.97 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 48m 42s | -04° 33’ 34” | 13.5 | 15.90 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 01s | +46° 07’ 27” | 13.6 | 13.66 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 16h 52m 26s | -44° 06’ 48” | 13.8 | 14.58 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 22h 22m 32s | -70° 42’ 51” | 14.4 | 15.45 | Indus Ind | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 12h 42m 47s | +01° 49’ 27” | - | 14.49 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 10h 41m 36s | -64° 57’ 09” | - | 14.67 | Carina Car | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 L2 (ATLAS) | 09h 55m 51s | -26° 33’ 01” | - | 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 45m 56s | +12° 00’ 52” | 8.07 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 38m 09s | -30° 47’ 53” | 8.62 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 31m 15s | -10° 20’ 21” | 8.85 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 10m 20s | +53° 23’ 21” | 9.60 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 16m 16s | +34° 33’ 17” | 9.62 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 40m 19s | +04° 51’ 31” | 9.89 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 22m 04s | +12° 32’ 36” | 10.19 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 42m 10s | -17° 36’ 18” | 10.35 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 51m 54s | +12° 27’ 27” | 10.44 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 50m 50s | +13° 56’ 09” | 10.99 | 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 | ||