November will be the best time to watch Uranus: no joke
The cosmos is always moving and spectators can see cool things. As the Earth orbits the sun, it pulls itself through the tails of comets, resulting in meteor showers, and occasionally picks up an extra moon every now and then. During the month of November, stargazers will have the best opportunity to gaze at Uranus, the cool blue ice giant with the punchline of a name. The planet will be closer to Earth and brighter in the sky than the rest of the year.
This is because Uranus is in opposition. Basically, this means that Uranus is as close to Earth as possible, making it appear larger and brighter in the sky than during the other 11 months of the year. The reason it’s called opposition is because Earth will be sandwiched directly between the Sun and Uranus (insert your own joke here), meaning Uranus will be on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun.
Uranus will be at opposition on November 17 at 3:00 PM UTC, which translates to 10:00 AM ET and 7:00 AM PT. The best nights to view Uranus from an astrological standpoint are November 16 to 18, as that’s about as close to the actual event as you can get when it’s dark outside. It will rise from the eastern sky around sunset and disappear below the western horizon around sunrise. That means you have all night to watch it.
Read more: Check out these beautiful Northern Lights photos from Aurora Watchers
When is the best time to view Uranus?
November 16 to 18 is the best time as the planet will be at opposition. However, because its orbits move slowly, Uranus has been brighter than normal for some time. According to EarthSkyUranus began to shine brightest around mid-October and will continue to do so until around mid-December.
Uranus will be in the sky literally every night this month. So as long as there is a clear evening and night, Uranus will be in the sky. That’s one of the benefits of a planet being in opposition. It is there when the sun is not there because the two are on opposite sides of Earth’s sky.
Read more: The rest of the year you can catch a meteor shower almost every night
Do I need special equipment to see Uranus?
You will almost certainly need binoculars or a telescope to see Uranus. Technically, the planet is visible to the naked eye under dark skies and away from light pollution for those with exceptionally good eyesight. according to NASA. However, that requires near-perfect conditions, and most people don’t live in those kinds of conditions. We therefore recommend that you take a visual aid with you so that you can see it better.
You don’t need anything super powerful to explore the planet. It will appear as a faint star in the sky and any binoculars or even a small telescope will be able to see it easily. The more powerful your telescope, the greater and more detailed your view will be. To see the planet’s rings, you probably need a Minimum 12 inch telescope with a magnification of about 200-300 times. They will look like a halo surrounding the planet, rather than physical rings normally seen on Saturn.
Read more: This month’s Supermoon will be the last until October 2025
When will Uranus be in opposition again?
Opposition occurs once a year for every planet in the solar system except Venus and Mercury. Because Uranus’ orbit is exceptionally slow, orbiting the sun about once every 84 Earth years, Uranus’ orbit will be largely in the same place this year when Earth visits again next year. The next time Uranus will be at opposition is November 21, 2025.
In case you miss it, the University of Hertfordshire Observatory has a great video of Uranus dancing with its four brightest moons. Furthermore, Uranus will still be visible with a telescope or high-powered binoculars even when not at opposition, as evidenced by the fact that in January 2025 it will participate in a planetary parade that will eventually see all seven planets in our solar system. immediately visible in the night sky.
