Uranus Will Be Visible With Binoculars On Sunday Night

Let’s talk a minute about the most controversial of all the planets — Uranus. Do you say it Your-i-ness or Your-Anus? *Tee Hee*

Now, if you are a star gazer, you know that Uranus is pretty dim. It’s next to impossible to find it in the night sky without a telescope. And, even then, you can’t see it as well as — say — Mars or Jupiter.

You might do one of those, “Is that Uranus? That might be Uranus. I’m pretty sure that’s Uranus.”

But, this weekend, we get a rare opportunity to see Uranus really well– like, you can see it with just binoculars. So, imagine how it’s gonna look through a telescope!!

Planet Watch: Uranus, is going to go down on Sunday night.

Get those binoculars ready about dusk — when you can already see the moon.

If you are experienced with the night sky, the directions are easy. *Sarcastic*

The easiest way to find the field of view containing Uranus as you scan around with binoculars is to draw a line between Hamal, the brightest star in Aries, and Menkar, the brightest star in Cetus. Uranus lies midway between these two easy-to-spot 2nd-magnitude stars.
Astronomy.com

If you are someone like me, who just thinks the stars are pretty little shimmers in the sky, Uranus might be a little bit harder to find.

A useful guide is the waxing crescent Moon, which sits in Aries March 6 — a lovely sight in the evening sky. Swing your binoculars between 3° and 4° northeast of our satellite to find Uranus.
Astronomy.com

If you’re still left scratching your head, you can use an app like Night Sky to help you find what you’re looking for. I usually have to bust out my app whenever you are able to see cool things in the sky.

Obviously, it is best if you get out of the city, where light pollution makes it harder to find what you’re looking for. The darker the area, the more visible the stars and planets will be. Maybe it’s a great time to make that trip to the lake or country.