?Whenever we think about planet names, Uranus has the saddest of them all (it¡¯s not that funny, you guys). The second last planet in our solar system (sorry Pluto) is pale blue, cold and according to researchers even stinky (which makes its name even more hilarious), but this planet is not as much in the limelight as say Mars or Saturn with its rings.?
But in case you wanted to spot Uranus, today is your lucky day as the planet is close enough to Earth that it can be spotted by the naked eye and even better with the help of binoculars.
This was first revealed by NASA in its weekly skywatching tips post. According to the post, you can spot Uranus right in the centre of Moon and Mars tonight. NASA said in its post, ¡°The distant, outer planet Uranus is too faint for most of us to see with the unaided eye, and it can be tough to locate in the sky without a computer-guided telescope. But Uranus can be located now right between the Moon and Mars.¡±
The planet is roughly 1.82 billion miles from us, and as of now, it has only been visited by NASA¡¯s Voyager 2 spacecraft so far, in the year 1986.
Axel Diaz, a Solar System Ambassador for NASA further offers tips to successfully spot the planet, ¡°That evening, find the crescent Moon and the Red Planet in a couple of hours after it gets dark. Mars will stand out in the night sky with an orange, reddish tint near the moon. People say you can't find the planet Uranus¡ªit's very hard to find, it's very faint, it's very small. The best way to find it is to look at the moon. Look at the moon and look at Mars.¡±
You'll be able to spot in India after sunset at around 17:32 hours for a whole seven hours till 01:06 AM on Friday. According to Timeanddate.com, the planet will be visible at an 18-degree altitude and direction of 84 degrees East..?
In case you want to catch the best glimpse of the pale blue planet, get yourselves a pair of good binoculars or a telescope to witness the planet in all its glory.