The Solar System · today
The solar system
Each planet's position around the Sun today, viewed from above; orbit spacing is logarithmic, so the four inner orbits stay legible instead of collapsing into the Sun. Positions are measured as heliocentric longitude, an angle whose zero point — the dashed ray marked 0° — is the direction of the vernal equinox.
Earth is drawn in its own orbit, so the plan view also shows how each planet stands relative to us: the angle at Earth between the Sun and a planet is its elongation, the first column of the table opposite.
Configured comets appear as brass diamonds with a three-ray tail fanning away from the Sun, at their true heliocentric longitude and distance.
Rise & set · today
Rise and set
Bars span each body's time above the horizon; the tick is the transit. Background bands are tonight's darkness: civil, nautical and astronomical twilight — the USNO geometric definitions.
In the eyepiece · today
In the eyepiece
Elongation is the angle from the sun: near 0° a planet is lost in the glare, near 180° it rises as the sun sets. Lit is the percentage of the disc illuminated — pronounced for Mercury and Venus, slight for Mars, almost none beyond. Disc is the apparent diameter in arcseconds.
| Body | Elongation | Lit | Disc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 24° | 71% | 6.1″ | |
| Venus | 27° | 11% | 51.8″ | |
| Mars | 68° | 90% | 5.7″ | |
| Jupiter | 52° | 99% | 33.6″ | |
| Saturn | 177° | 100% | 19.7″ | near opposition |
| Uranus | 127° | 100% | 3.7″ | |
| Neptune | 170° | 100% | 2.4″ | near opposition |
Saturn's rings are tilted 7.4° toward Earth.