Uranus will be visible in the night sky tonight – here’s the best time to see it from the UK

It is an icy cold world and one of the most distant planets in our solar system.

But stargazers in the UK will tonight have the chance to see a rare and stunning view of Uranus from around midnight, and perhaps even with the naked eye if the skies are clear.

The reason the seventh planet appears from the sun is a phenomenon known as opposition.

This is where Earth lies between Uranus and the Sun, meaning that the farthest world is the closest it can be to us during a given year, and is therefore also at its brightest.

When a planet in our solar system is in opposition, it’s always the best time to view it from Earth because sunlight reflects off the world and makes it look like a faint star.

Icy world: Experts say it’s possible to see Uranus with the naked eye, but sky watchers will need to find a place far from major cities and hope cloud doesn’t obscure their view

When it comes to Uranus, this always happens in mid-November every year when the planet is about 1.6 billion miles from Earth.

That may seem like a very long way, but because the ice giant is so large — about four times the width of our planet — it’s relatively easy to spot.

Experts insist it will be possible to see Uranus with the naked eye, but sky watchers will need to find a location far from major cities and hope cloud doesn’t obscure their view.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich said: “If you have the opportunity to view the stars from an area with less light pollution, and if the weather is on your side, you will be able to spot them.”

“If not, you’ll be able to see it with a telescope, if you have access to one.”

“Through a telescope, Uranus appears as a light green colored disk, and you may be able to spot some of its moons!”

Dr Greg Brown, from the Royal Observatory, told MailOnline: ‘Because of the Earth’s rotation, (Uranus) will rise at sunset and be highest in the sky at midnight, making it the clearest and easiest to see at that time.’

He advised people to look south about 50 degrees above the horizon, below the constellation Aries.

If anyone is still struggling, Dr. Brown said to look for “two easy-to-see scenes.”

“The bright, almost unmissable point of light – Jupiter and the bright star cluster known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters – Uranus would be about halfway between the two,” he added.

SNAG: Most people across England will probably have a good view tonight, but meteorologists say people in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland could suffer due to cloud cover around midnight.

Uranus is the second planet that will be in opposition this month, after Jupiter on November 2-3

“Although it is technically visible with the naked eye under ideal conditions, it is best viewed using binoculars or a small telescope as a small pale blue dot.”

However, don’t worry if you miss it. That’s because astronomers say Uranus will remain bright until mid-December, so there’s still plenty of time to catch a glimpse of it in the night sky.

Forecasters say most of England should have a good view tonight, but cloud is likely to obstruct those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The ice giant is the second planet that will be in opposition this month, after Jupiter on November 2-3.

At this point, the gas giant was about 367 million miles from Earth, compared to 601 million miles when it was furthest from Earth.

Planetary oppositions of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune occur approximately every year because Earth orbits the starThe United Nations is much faster than distant worlds into space.

But Mars is a little different.

Because the Red Planet and our world are relatively close to each other in the solar system, a Mars opposition occurs approximately every 27 months.

After today, Uranus will next encounter on November 17, 2024, Saturn on September 8 of next year, Neptune on September 21, and Jupiter on December 7, 2024.

How does Uranus’ magnetic field compare to Earth’s magnetic field?

A study analyzing data collected more than 30 years ago by the Voyager 2 spacecraft found that Uranus’ global magnetosphere is unlike Earth’s magnetosphere, which is known to be roughly aligned with our planet’s rotation axis.

A false-color view of Uranus captured by Hubble is depicted

According to researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, this alignment would lead to behavior significantly different from what we see around Earth.

Uranus lies and rotates on its side, leaving its magnetic field tilted 60 degrees off its axis.

As a result, the magnetic field “stoops” asymmetrically with respect to the solar wind.

As a result, the magnetic field “stoops” asymmetrically with respect to the solar wind.

When the magnetosphere is open, it allows the solar wind to flow through it.

But when it closes, it forms a shield against these particles.

Researchers suspect that solar wind reconnection occurs upstream of Uranus’ magnetosphere at different latitudes, causing the magnetic flux to shut down in different parts.