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In Evidence
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In Evidence
Today's Highlights
- The Sun is in the constellation of Ophiucus. The Moon is in the constellation of Cancer and it is in Waning Gibbous phase.
- Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) is in the constellation of Grus and its latest observed magnitude is 8.6. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
- Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is in the constellation of Lyra and its latest observed magnitude is 9.1. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
- Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan is in the constellation of Leo and its latest observed magnitude is 9.8. It should be visible with the help of a binocular with a 80mm aperture or a small telescope.
- The next close approach with a Near Earth Object (NEO) will happen with Asteroid (NEO) 2020 YO3 on Dec 23 2023 at 20:28 UTC (21 days 17 hours 31 minutes), at an approach distance of 1,363,898 kilometers, or 3.55 lunar distances, and a relative speed of 16.62 kilometers per second.
- Uranus is at opposition, current elongation 160.7°
Popular Objects This Week
The Solar System Today
This interactive 3D view shows the current positions of the major bodies of the Solar System and the brightest comets. For more advanced features, check out our 3D Solar System Viewer.
View larger 3D Solar System Simulator
The Sun and the Moon Today
Here is how the Sun and the Moon look like today.
| R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 16h 30m 33s | -21° 50’ 46” | 1,946.1” | -26.77 | Ophiucus | location_searching map |
| Moon | 08h 36m 05s | +23° 23’ 31” | 1,791.8” | -11.17 | Cancer | map |
The Planets Today
This table shows current essential information about the planets. By clicking on each row it is possible to view full details for each planet.
| Planet | R.A. | Decl. | Apparent Diameter | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venus | 13h 41m 41s | -08° 12’ 54” | 17.0” | -4.18 | Virgo | location_searching map |
| Jupiter | 02h 19m 06s | +12° 28’ 51” | 46.8” | -2.81 | Aries | location_searching map |
| Mercury | 18h 01m 13s | -25° 48’ 34” | 6.3” | -0.41 | Sagittarius | location_searching map |
| Saturn | 22h 14m 02s | -12° 44’ 32” | 16.3” | 0.87 | Aquarius | location_searching map |
| Mars | 16h 12m 45s | -21° 24’ 36” | 3.7” | 1.38 | Scorpius | location_searching map |
| Uranus | 03h 10m 28s | +17° 25’ 44” | 3.7” | 5.66 | Aries | location_searching map |
| Neptune | 23h 42m 00s | -03° 18’ 46” | 2.3” | 7.74 | Aquarius | location_searching map |
The image below shows the current position of the 4 Galilean satellites of Jupiter. A page dedicated to Jupiter's moons is available, with more advanced features.
The image below shows the current inclination of the rings of Saturn and the positions of its major satellites. A page dedicated to the system of Saturn is available, with more advanced features.
The image below shows a comparison between the apparent size of the planets as they appear today. The apparent size of a planet depends on its size and the distance from Earth. The larger the distance, the smaller the apparent size.
6.3”
17.0”
3.7”
46.8”
16.3”
3.7”
2.3”
Credits for the planet images: NASA-APL - NASA.
Top 10 Brightest Comets
This is a list of the brightest comets currently visible in the sky. A more extensive list of (233) bright and interesting comets is available on the site, please check it out.
| Comet | R.A. | Decl. | Magnitude (Observed)Mag Obs | Magnitude (Estimated)Mag Pred | Coma DiameterComa Diam | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) | 22h 19m 18s | -37° 56’ 36” | 8.6 | 10.09 |
|
2.4' | Grus Gru | location_searching map | |
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 18h 28m 07s | +38° 35’ 19” | 9.1 | 12.71 |
|
0.0' | Lyra Lyr | location_searching map | |
| 62P/Tsuchinshan | 09h 47m 00s | +18° 18’ 02” | 9.8 | 10.32 |
|
3.0' | Leo Leo | location_searching map | |
| 103P/Hartley | 09h 05m 03s | -09° 25’ 02” | 10.0 | 15.14 |
|
9.0' | Hydra Hya | location_searching map | |
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 13h 04m 17s | -39° 57’ 58” | 11.2 | 9.27 |
|
2.0' | Centaurus Cen | location_searching map | |
| C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) | 13h 04m 18s | -45° 16’ 57” | 11.5 | 16.00 |
|
2.0' | Centaurus Cen | location_searching map | |
| C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 06h 09m 53s | -06° 28’ 29” | 12.0 | 14.71 | 1.0' | Monoceros Mon | location_searching map | ||
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 14h 46m 07s | -05° 58’ 22” | 14.5 | 15.79 |
|
0.0' | Virgo Vir | location_searching map | |
| 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann | 08h 43m 22s | +20° 28’ 48” | 15.0 | 17.39 |
|
0.9' | Cancer Cnc | location_searching map | |
| 144P/Kushida | 02h 48m 03s | +16° 41’ 49” | 15.3 | 14.02 |
|
0.6' | Aries Ari | location_searching map |
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 Visible Today
This is a list of the top 10 brightest asteroids visible tonight. Click on each line to go to the asteroids's detail page. You can also check the full list of tracked asteroids and dwarf planets (79).
| Asteroid | R.A. | Decl. | MagnitudeMag | ConstellationConst | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Vesta | 06h 17m 21s | +19° 44’ 42” | 6.84 |
|
Orion | location_searching map | |
| 1 Ceres | 16h 04m 25s | -18° 01’ 56” | 8.65 |
|
Scorpius | location_searching map | |
| 18 Melpomene | 02h 48m 45s | -04° 19’ 56” | 8.67 |
|
Eridanus | location_searching map | |
| 9 Metis | 06h 23m 19s | +25° 51’ 26” | 8.96 |
|
Gemini | location_searching map | |
| 2 Pallas | 14h 30m 33s | +00° 26’ 13” | 9.55 | Virgo | location_searching map | ||
| 3 Juno | 10h 56m 47s | -00° 19’ 03” | 9.80 |
|
Leo | location_searching map | |
| 8 Flora | 22h 53m 22s | -14° 26’ 24” | 10.15 |
|
Aquarius | location_searching map | |
| 5 Astraea | 06h 44m 07s | +15° 45’ 47” | 10.17 |
|
Gemini | location_searching map | |
| 29 Amphitrite | 00h 03m 35s | +04° 33’ 29” | 10.18 |
|
Pisces | location_searching map | |
| 15 Eunomia | 20h 10m 01s | -15° 25’ 01” | 10.45 | Capricornus | location_searching map |
Active Meteor Showers Visible Today
This is a list of the currently active meteor showers. The celestial coordinates refer to the meteor shower radiant position, i.e. the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from. The ZHR value refers to the Zenithal Hourly Rate, i.e. the average number of meteors an individual observer could see in an hour, assuming perfectly dark sky conditions. This number is an estimate, the actual number an observer could see depends on the actual intensity of the shower (which can be highly variable) and on the actual sky conditions. The data used here is derived from Wikipedia.
| Name | Peak | Radiant R.A. | Radiant Decl. | ZHR | Rating | Parent Object | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puppid-Velids | multiple | 08h 11m | -45° | 10 | medium | map | ||
| Northern Taurids | 12 Nov | 03h 53m | +22° | 5 | bright | Comet Encke | map | |
| November Orionids | 28 Nov | 06h 05m | +16° | 3 | medium | map | ||
| Phoenicids | 2 Dec | 01h 11m | -53° | variable | medium | 289P/Blanpain | map | |