Monday, October 14, 2013

Uranus - Take two


I set out a few nights ago to see the planet Uranus for the second time.  It's been a few years since my first viewing, I have failed at least 4 times since the first.
What helped me this time was using Pegasus as a guide.  I waited until Pegasus got to the meridian, and then used the "trailing' two stars of the box as a pointer.  Usually Uranus just seems to be out there with nothing for me to judge its position.
Uranus is somewhat tricky to find.  All the other planets inward from Uranus (except Pluto and Earth) are really easy to find with the naked eyeball.  It appears bigger than most stars you see through a telescope, but not by much.  The best giveaway is the color:  blue.  I always imagined it would have a greenish tint, but in my 8" reflector, it just appears blue.
Uranus does not 'flicker' like normal stars do.  It stays steady as a pale blue dot.  Though there is virtually no detail when using my equipment, I still find it fascinating to look at.
Uranus is just past opposition as of a couple weeks ago I believe, so it should still be one of the better times to view it.

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