With the seventh planet close to its annual opposition — when Earth is between Uranus and the sun — this week is your best chance of the year to see Uranus.
With Earth directly between Uranus and the Sun, the seventh planet has reached opposition, making it visible all night long.It’s the third-largest planet in the solar system, but Uranus is one of the most overlooked by skywatchers.
Nearly 1.8 billion miles from Earth, it’s faint, slow-moving and rarely a target for casual stargazers. Even most experienced stargazers haven’t ever seen it — but it is possible. This week, it’s easier than ever. Unlike closer, brighter planets like Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus typically requires binoculars or a telescope to spot — and even then it's little more than a tiny, pale-blue disk. It wasn’t officially discovered until 1781, when astronomer William Herschel found it in a 6-inch telescope.When And Where To Look This weekend, Earth slid between Uranus and the sun, placing the planet directly opposite the sun in our sky. Astronomers call this a planet’s opposition, which brings Uranus to its brightest and closest point of the year. It also rises in the east at sunset, climbs high through the night, and sets at dawn. For skywatchers, this marks the best opportunity to see the seventh planet all year. Practically speaking, opposition isn’t one night, but a week on either side. The planet sits in the constellation Taurus, approximately four degrees southeast of the bright open star cluster known as the Pleiades . During November and December, from the Northern Hemisphere, you can see the Pleiades in the east as soon as it gets dark. Find the stars 13 Taurus and 14 Taurus and use them as guides to locate Uranus.Uranus is not bright, but at magnitude +5.7, it’s technically a naked-eye object under very clear and dark skies — though don’t expect to see more than a faint dot. Through binoculars, it will resemble a dim star. If you do have a small telescope, it will reveal it as a blue-green disk, though only a 6-inch telescope provides an impressive view ., dress up warmly and use a lawn chair for comfort. If you have a pair of binoculars, you’ll have a much better chance of glimpsing it . Start by finding the Pleiades — rising due east and moving into the southeast night sky — then scan a few degrees beneath it. Don't expect Uranus to twinkle; instead, look for a steady glow, which will make it stand out.Late November is a fabulous time to get re-acquainted with the night sky — and the moon and planets, in particular. After sunset this week, there will be a beautiful crescent moon visible in the western sky — look on Sunday. Nov. 23 through Wednesday, Nov. 26, for that. It will glow with subtle Earthshine — sunlight reflected from Earth lighting up the moon’s dark side. Swivel 180 degrees to face east, and you’ll see a very bright Jupiter rising into the sky. Later in the week, Mercury makes a rare naked-eye appearance near Venus in the pre-dawn eastern sky, peaking on Nov. 30.
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Uranus Just Got Brighter — Here’s Exactly Where And When To LookWith the seventh planet close to its annual opposition — when Earth is between Uranus and the sun — this week is your best chance of the year to see Uranus.
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