What Types of Celestial Objects Can I Explore on TheSkyLive?

Updated

TheSkyLive organizes its coverage into eight object categories: major objects (Sun, Moon, planets), comets, asteroids, near-Earth objects, artificial satellites, space probes, constellations and deep sky objects, and supernovae. You can browse each category directly, or use the "Find it in the sky" tool to plot a specific object on an interactive star map. The main practical condition: visibility data and star-map orientation are only accurate once you set your observing location — otherwise the site defaults to Greenwich, UK.

The eight object categories

The site's navigation lists these groups under "Objects":

Category What it covers
Major Objects Sun, Moon, and the planets
Comets Current observable comets, listed by designation
Asteroids Asteroid targets
Near Earth Objects NEOs
Artificial Satellites 🛰︎ Earth-orbiting satellites
Space Probes Active and notable probes
Constellations & Deep Sky Constellations and deep-sky targets
Supernovae Supernova events

Each category has a matching visibility page — for example "Planets Visible Tonight," "Comets Visible Tonight," and "Asteroids Visible Tonight" — so you can move from a general category to what is actually observable in your sky.

Major objects: Sun, Moon, and planets

The "Find it in the sky" selector lists the following major objects by name:

  • Sun
  • Moon
  • Mercury
  • Venus
  • Mars
  • Jupiter
  • Saturn
  • Uranus
  • Neptune

Selecting one of these visualizes it on the interactive star maps. Related tools go deeper on individual bodies: Jupiter's Galilean Moons and Saturn's Rings and Moons each have dedicated pages.

Comets: a long, current list

The comet list is the most granular part of the site, with objects identified by their formal designations. Examples from the selector include:

  • C/2026 P2 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2026 O1 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2026 M3 (MASTER)
  • C/2026 L1 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2026 J1 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2026 C1 (Tsuchinshan)
  • C/2026 A2 (Bok)
  • C/2026 B3 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2026 B2 (Sun-Gao)
  • C/2026 AZ17 (Bok)
  • C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
  • C/2025 Y1 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 W2 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 V2 (Rankin)
  • C/2025 V1 (Borisov)
  • C/2025 T1 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2025 R2 (SWAN)
  • C/2025 R1 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 Q3 (ATLAS)
  • 3I/ATLAS
  • C/2025 M2 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2025 M1 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2025 L1 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 K4 (Siverd)
  • C/2025 K3 (PANSTARRS)
  • C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)
  • C/2025 J1 (Borisov)
  • C/2025 F2 (SWAN)
  • C/2025 E1 (PANSTARRS)
  • P/2025 D4 (ATLAS)
  • P/2005 S2 (Skiff)
  • C/2025 B2 (Borisov)

The mix of C/ (non-periodic) and P/ (periodic) prefixes tells you whether a comet is a one-time visitor or returns on a cycle — useful when deciding whether a target is worth planning around. Note that 3I/ATLAS appears without a C/ prefix because it is an interstellar object rather than a solar-system comet.

Asteroids, NEOs, satellites, and probes

These categories are separated because they serve different observing goals:

  • Asteroids — small bodies you can attempt to image or track.
  • Near Earth Objects — the subset whose orbits bring them close to Earth.
  • Artificial Satellites — human-made objects in Earth orbit, useful for passes and bright-flare events.
  • Space Probes — deep-space missions, tracked as informational objects rather than backyard targets.

Constellations, deep sky, and supernovae

For targets beyond the solar system, the site groups Constellations & Deep Sky together, and tracks Supernovae as their own category. These pair naturally with the star-map tools, since you'll typically locate them by chart position rather than by a visibility countdown.

Tools that turn the list into an observation plan

Browsing objects is only half the workflow. The site's tool set includes:

  • Set Observing Location — required for accurate visibility and map orientation.
  • 3D Solar System Viewer — explore the layout of the solar system.
  • Star Maps and Personalized Star Map — plot objects against your sky.
  • Moon Calendar — today's Moon phase, next full Moon, next new Moon.
  • The Sky Tonight, Planets/Comets/Asteroids Visible Tonight, What is Visible Now?
  • Solar Eclipses and Lunar Eclipses
  • Cloud Cover Maps — check whether your target will actually be visible.

A practical sequence: set your location first, open "What is Visible Now?" or the relevant "Visible Tonight" page to shortlist targets, then use "Find it in the sky" to plot a chosen object on the star map, and finally check the cloud cover map before heading outside.

What to expect from the object lists

The categories are broad and the comet list is long and designation-heavy, so the fastest route is usually to start from a visibility page rather than from the full object selector. If you skip setting your location, the site falls back to Greenwich, UK (timezone Europe/London) and warns that visibility information and automatic star-map orientation may be off — so treat any unlocated output as a rough reference only.