Planet Venus meet Planet George

Ancient people were the first to look up at a then very clear night sky and observe the stars and the five naked eye viewable planets; Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Considering back then they did not have TV or any other sort of entertainment, a great deal of time was spent studying the night sky. So with all that studying how did they manage to miss the sixth planet visible with the naked eye, George?

English astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet in 1781 during a telescopic survey of the zodiac. He promptly named it the Georgium Sidus (the Georgian Planet) in honor of his patron, King George III.

Uranus had been seen many times before but mistaken for a star. The earliest recorded sighting was in 1690 when astronomer John Flamsteed cataloged it as 34 Tauri, the 34th star of Taurus the Bull. We can understand the error. Uranus is so far from the sun it looks like a star to the unaided eye. And it moves so slowly; you have to watch for decades to realize that it is a wanderer—or, in ancient Greek, a planētēs.

In modern times, Uranus has become all but impossible to see. The planet is naturally faint, and urban lights wipe it out completely. No one notices when Uranus soars overhead.

This month however, you may have the opportunity to see George, err…Uranus, as it has a close encounter in the pre-dawn sky with Venus.

On April 17th, 18th and 19th, Venus and Uranus are going to have a close encounter in the dawn sky. Simply look east before sunrise. As a guidepost, Venus can’t be beat. It is so bright, people often think it’s a landing airplane. Simply scan Venus with a pair of binoculars (or a small telescope) and you’ll see Uranus right beside it. If the sky is very dark, you may be able to lift your eyes from the optics and see Uranus directly.

On April 17th the pair will be separated by about one degree, the width of your pinky finger held at arm’s length. On the 18th they’ll be even closer together, 0.3 degrees. On the 19th the distance increases again to one degree.

Perhaps I will get to see it early one of those mornings as I am leaving work. That would be nice; I have always enjoyed looking up at the stars and the night sky.

2 thoughts on “Planet Venus meet Planet George

  1. Pingback: Lost in thought… » Seeing planets

  2. Pingback: Seeing planets at King’s Pride

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