Opposition of Uranus in 2012

September 29, 2012 the seventh planet from the Sun - Uranus - come into opposition to the Sun. The moment of conflict - the best period of observation of the planet, the minimum distance from the Earth, and hence the appearance size of Uranus, the sky is greatest. Watch Uranus these days you can even to the naked eye as not bright stars on a clear dark country sky, in the absence of illumination from the moon. 

Amateur telescope will show a tiny blue-green disk of the planet without any details. Passing near the bright moon, located near the full moon phase, significantly worsen the conditions of observation resist this distant planet in 2012.

Uranus opposition occurs every year, with an offset of about 4 days from the last date. Uranus coming confrontation will occur September 29, 2012, October 3, 2013, October 8, 2014.

To find Uranus in the sky, you must have a minimum of binoculars and a star map. Now the planet moves in the constellation of Pisces (on the border with the constellation of China), where it will remain until 2018, and the observation conditions in the Northern Hemisphere will get better every year! These days, the planet is shine +5,8 m magnitude and the apparent angular size 3.7''.

Uranium is a giant planet with a diameter 51,118 km and was opened by famous English astronomer William Herschel, 13 March 1781. Name after the Greek god of the sky Uranus. Away from the Sun by an average of 3 billion km and completes an orbit around it for 84 years. An interesting feature of the world in an unusual orientation in space - Uranus spins on its axis, as it lay on its side (the slope of the axis of rotation of 98 degrees to the plane of the orbit). Uranus has a ring consisting of several thin ringlets. They are open March 10, 1977 while covering their star SAO 158687. Uranus' atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, and has a greenish-blue tint.

The first pictures of Uranus up close were in 1986, the American spacecraft NASA "Voyager 2" is on its way to the edge of the solar system. They show "inexpressive" in the visible spectrum of a planet with no cloud bands and atmospheric storms typical of other giant planets. Currently, however, ground-based observations could discern signs of seasonal change and increased weather activity in the world, due to the approach of Uranus at its equinox. It is currently known 27 satellites of the planet.

Clear sky and successful observations of Uranus!