See Uranus Tonight

[In_The_Wind]

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The gas-packed planet Uranus will be at its closest point to Earth Thursday night as it reaches opposition with the sun — meaning it will be bathed in light — and it should be visible to the naked eye. The ice giant’s blue-green color is unmistakable, and skywatchers should be able to see the planet throughout the month of October.

Uranus — properly pronounced “YOOR-a-nus” — is the seventh planet from the sun and the third largest in the solar system. It floats in front of the constellation Pisces the Fishes, and it hasn’t been this high in the sky during opposition since February 1963.

There’s a new moon, so Uranus won’t face competition in the same area of the sky. It reaches its peak at 1 a.m. local time.

[IronLionZion]

1. I'm so glad this wasn't a dirty joke

[FakeNoose]

7. Sorry, I couldn't resist

Smile and be a good sport

[Sneederbunk]

2. Will you need a mirror?

[CurtEastPoint]

8. o that made me laugh...thanks!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I'm not surprised to learn that Uranus is gas-packed.

I can't help it; I'm a fourth-grader at heart.

[yallerdawg]

4. Uranus?

[Bradshaw3]

6. Beat me too it

hehehehehe

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. At the risk of exciting DUers.... Never mind; too late.

I've never seen Uranus; I mean, knowingly. I'll have my binoculars at hand.

The WaPo and the NYT (I think) leave out Mercury in the planet charts.

My favorite astronomy app is Planetarium, which I have on a Sony CLIÉ PEG-SJ22, a 2003-vintage device that runs on version 4.1 of the Palm OS. It's terrific. I wish they'd port it to iOS and Android. Anyway, it shows that Uranus rises at 6:18 for viewers near Washington, DC.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. This thread is so immature and puerile that I refuse to post in it

more than twice. Well, maybe three times.

Hey, thanks. I went out with my Sony Clie with the Planetarium app and found Uranus, and in not too long.

I'm in Alexandria, Virginia. The light pollution in general is bad enough, but my new (um, two years) neighbors decided soon after moving in that they needed extremely bright lights to illuminate their backyard. For what reason, I do not know. I can't see Uranus with the naked eye, but I can make it out with binoculars. I never would have known to go looking for it if you had not started this thread.

It's too close to the urban light haze now, just before 9:00 p.m. Maybe after midnight I can get a better look at it.

Thanks so much for the tip.

[Fla Dem]

10. Generally speaking which direction? East, west, north, south sky?