Highlights
- The Sun is in Leo, the Moon is Waxing Gibbous in Capricornus
- T CrB: magnitude
9.907 ± 0.003 [2024-09-14 10:18:12 UTC, CCD/CV, IDG/AAVSO] - Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS):
magnitude
5.5 in Sextans - Comet 13P/Olbers:
magnitude
8.6 in Bootes - Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks:
magnitude
11.0 in Centaurus -
Next NEO approach:
Asteroid (NEO) 2024 RQ5,
Sep 15 2024 at 05:58 UTC,431,341 km,1.12 lunar distances - Saturn is close to opposition
- Neptune is close to 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 33m 22s | +02° 52’ 25” | 1,908.1” | -26.73 | Leo | map my_location |
| Moon | 20h 56m 04s | -22° 27’ 16” | 1,947.5” | -11.70 | Capricornus | 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 46m 15s | +09° 35’ 39” | 5.7” | -1.17 | Leo | map my_location |
| Venus | 13h 15m 29s | -07° 27’ 07” | 11.5” | -3.89 | Virgo | map my_location |
| Mars | 06h 26m 29s | +23° 28’ 22” | 6.9” | 0.65 | Gemini | map my_location |
| Jupiter | 05h 18m 22s | +22° 22’ 55” | 39.3” | -2.35 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Saturn | 23h 10m 00s | -07° 44’ 27” | 18.5” | 0.60 | Aquarius | map my_location |
| Uranus | 03h 39m 49s | +19° 16’ 02” | 3.7” | 5.70 | Taurus | map my_location |
| Neptune | 23h 57m 13s | -01° 44’ 36” | 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.
5.7”
11.5”
6.9”
39.3”
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 37m 20s | -05° 25’ 39” | 5.5 | 8.10 | Sextans Sex | map my_location | ||
| 13P/Olbers | 14h 00m 06s | +11° 47’ 39” | 8.6 | 10.01 | Bootes Boo | map my_location | ||
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 13h 05m 21s | -47° 40’ 04” | 11.0 | 13.15 | Centaurus Cen | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 16h 58m 25s | -42° 57’ 59” | 13.3 | 14.60 | Scorpius Sco | map my_location | ||
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 19h 24m 48s | +50° 36’ 54” | 13.5 | 12.34 | Cygnus Cyg | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 22h 47m 18s | -04° 39’ 31” | 13.5 | 15.89 | Aquarius Aqr | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 07h 39m 22s | +46° 51’ 03” | 13.6 | 13.64 | Lynx Lyn | map my_location | ||
| C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS) | 12h 57m 57s | +01° 26’ 18” | - | 14.60 | Virgo Vir | map my_location | ||
| 130P/McNaught-Hughes | 02h 43m 49s | +08° 20’ 21” | 14.7 | 17.15 | Cetus Cet | map my_location | ||
| C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) | 10h 58m 20s | -64° 52’ 08” | - | 14.71 | 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 52m 07s | +11° 27’ 29” | 8.09 | Leo | map my_location | ||
| 1 Ceres | 18h 39m 44s | -30° 44’ 52” | 8.68 | Sagittarius | map my_location | ||
| 7 Iris | 20h 30m 20s | -10° 29’ 05” | 8.92 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 1036 Ganymed | 20h 21m 06s | +52° 22’ 34” | 9.52 | Cygnus | map my_location | ||
| 15 Eunomia | 05h 21m 23s | +34° 43’ 39” | 9.58 | Auriga | map my_location | ||
| 20 Massalia | 00h 37m 46s | +04° 34’ 34” | 9.80 | Pisces | map my_location | ||
| 2 Pallas | 16h 25m 13s | +11° 58’ 28” | 10.21 | Hercules | map my_location | ||
| 19 Fortuna | 01h 51m 17s | +12° 21’ 50” | 10.35 | Aries | map my_location | ||
| 16 Psyche | 20h 41m 20s | -17° 43’ 50” | 10.42 | Capricornus | map my_location | ||
| 11 Parthenope | 03h 52m 23s | +13° 53’ 09” | 10.94 | 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 | ||