Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Cal Tech
Observing Uranus
Uranus is just on the brink of what the naked eye can pick up and only some people can see it with out any optical aids. Using binoculars it is possible to see it as a pale green “star”, or point of light. Viewing it through a medium to large sized telescope will reveal its two brightest moons, Titania, Oberon as well as allow one to see Uranus itself as a small green disk. Uranus also has a series of rings which circle the planet perpendicular to our view point (opposed to Saturn’s which are closer to parallel), due to the fact that Uranus rotates roughly 90 degrees from its orbit with the Sun. These rings are very difficult to see without the largest of telescopes due to the fact that they are very thin.
Finding Uranus
Uranus moves extraordinarily slowly across the night sky, so much so that the first time it was discovered it was mistaken for a star. This makes its location rather consistent from year to year. Like all the other supieor planets Uranus is best observed at opposition, however Uranus is so far away that the difference made from its orbital position aligning with ours makes a less significant impact of observability than the closer planets. For the dates of the opposition of Uranus head to the Astronomical Calendar.
Facts About Uranus
Average Distance from the Sun: 19.19 AU (2,870,000,000 km)
Orbital Period: 84.0 years
Length of Day: 17.2 hours
Mass: 8.7×1025 kg (14.6 Earth masses)
Diameter (equatorial): 51,120 km (4.01 times the earth)
Average Surface Temperature: -216°C / -357°F
