- 5 Oct in London, Uranus: morning, from 21:00. In the south, 60° up, around 04:20. Magnitude 5.6, in Taurus.
- Uranus is in the evening sky 13 Nov – 4 May, and in the morning sky 5 Oct – 1 Dec, 30 Jun – 4 Oct. Brightest on 25 Nov (5.6), closest to the Earth on 25 Nov, 2,759 million km.
- Uranus at opposition: 25 November 2026.
Tonight in London
| Rises | 20:16 |
| Sets | — |
| Best | In binoculars: morning, from 21:00 |
| Where to look | In the south, 60° up, around 04:20 |
| Constellation | Taurus |
How to find it
Uranus shines at about magnitude 5.7, right at the limit of naked-eye stars. From a very dark site, with no Moon and knowing exactly where to look, it can be seen without optics, but it is hard to tell from faint stars. It takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, so it stays 6–7 years in the same constellation.
The nearest bright signpost now is the Pleiades: Uranus is 7° from it, a few binocular fields away. Light takes 2.6 hours to reach the Earth from the planet now.
When it shows over the next 12 months
Uranus is in the evening sky 13 Nov – 4 May, and in the morning sky 5 Oct – 1 Dec, 30 Jun – 4 Oct. Brightest on 25 Nov (5.6), closest to the Earth on 25 Nov, 2,759 million km.
Month by month
On the 15th of each month: when the planet rises and sets, its brightness, constellation and distance from the Earth.
| Date | Rises | Sets | Magnitude | Constellation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct | 19:36 | 11:33 | 5.6 | Taurus | 2,797 million km |
| 15 Nov | 16:31 | 08:25 | 5.6 | Taurus | 2,762 million km |
| 15 Dec | 14:29 | 06:21 | 5.6 | Taurus | 2,768 million km |
| 15 Jan | 12:24 | 04:14 | 5.6 | Taurus | 2,816 million km |
| 15 Feb | 10:18 | 02:11 | 5.7 | Taurus | 2,889 million km |
| 15 Mar | 08:29 | 00:24 | 5.7 | Taurus | 2,958 million km |
| 15 Apr | 07:31 | 23:29 | 5.8 | Taurus | 3,020 million km |
| 15 May | 05:38 | 21:40 | 5.8 | Taurus | 3,051 million km |
| 15 Jun | 03:41 | 19:47 | 5.8 | Taurus | 3,046 million km |
| 15 Jul | 01:48 | 17:58 | 5.8 | Taurus | 3,007 million km |
| 15 Aug | 23:50 | 16:02 | 5.7 | Taurus | 2,940 million km |
| 15 Sep | 21:49 | 14:02 | 5.7 | Taurus | 2,862 million km |
Key dates
The outer planets are best at opposition, when the Earth is between them and the Sun, and hidden for a few weeks around conjunction with the Sun.
| Date | Event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 25 November 2026 | Uranus at opposition | Closest and brightest of the year, rises at sunset and is up all night. |
| 27 May 2027 | Uranus behind the Sun | Conjunction with the Sun: hidden for a few weeks either side. |
| 30 November 2027 | Uranus at opposition | Closest and brightest of the year, rises at sunset and is up all night. |
| 30 May 2028 | Uranus behind the Sun | Conjunction with the Sun: hidden for a few weeks either side. |
The Moon next to the planet
Every month the Moon passes Uranus, the easiest way to find the planet. The next close passes:
| Wed 28 Oct | 5.1° |
| Tue 24 Nov | 5.1° |
Where the planet is in the Solar System
The view from above: the Sun in the centre, orbits scaled down. Today Uranus is 2,816 million km from the Earth; over the year the distance ranges from 2,759 million km to 3,053 million km.
What kind of planet
Uranus is an ice giant four times wider than the Earth. Below its hydrogen and helium atmosphere lies a dense layer of water, ammonia and methane "ices"; methane absorbs red light, which gives the planet its blue-green colour. Its axis is what sets it apart: tilted by 98°, so Uranus rolls around the Sun on its side, and each pole has 42 years of sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness. Its atmosphere is the coldest of any planet, down to −224 °C. It has 13 narrow dark rings and more than 25 moons.
In binoculars
In any binoculars Uranus is easy as a bright "star" with a blue-green tint. The simplest way is to start from a nearby bright star or cluster (this page names what to start from now) and compare with a star chart: over a few nights it shifts among the stars, which stay put.
In a telescope
From 100–150× a telescope shows Uranus as a tiny (3.4–3.8″), smooth blue-green disc with no detail, but the fact that it is not a point is enough to give the planet away. A larger telescope (from 250 mm) on a dark night can show its brightest moons, Titania and Oberon.
Exploration
Only one spacecraft has seen Uranus up close: Voyager 2, which flew past in January 1986. It found 10 new moons, two new rings and a strange, steeply tilted magnetic field. In 2022 the US planetary science community named a Uranus orbiter with an atmospheric probe as its top priority for the next large mission.
Name and history
Uranus was the first planet discovered with a telescope: William Herschel spotted it in England on 13 March 1781. At first he thought it was a comet, and he wanted to name the planet "Georgium Sidus" after King George III. The name that stuck, proposed by the German astronomer Johann Bode, was Uranus, the Greek god of the sky. Its moons are named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope: Miranda, Ariel, Titania, Oberon.
Facts
| Diameter | 50,724 km |
| Year | 84 Earth years |
| Day | 17 h 14 min, backwards |
| Moons | more than 25 |
| Axial tilt | 98° |
| Lowest temperature | about −224 °C |
Other planets
Questions people ask
Can I see Uranus tonight?
In London: morning, from 21:00. In the south, 60° up, around 04:20.
When is Uranus in the evening sky?
Over the next 12 months: 13 Nov – 4 May.
When is Uranus in the morning sky?
Over the next 12 months: 5 Oct – 1 Dec, 30 Jun – 4 Oct.
When is Uranus at opposition?
25 Nov 2026: closest and brightest of the year, rises at sunset and is up all night.
How do I tell Uranus from a star?
Planets do not twinkle and shine steadily, while stars twinkle, especially near the horizon. Planets also shift against the stars over a few weeks.
How far away is Uranus?
Today, 2,816 million km. Over the coming year it is closest on 25 Nov (2,759 million km).
Can you see Uranus with the naked eye?
In theory, yes: the eye can pick up a magnitude 5.7 object from a very dark site. In practice it works only if you know the exact spot and have a perfect sky; from a city, never.
Why does Uranus lie on its side?
Most likely a body the size of the Earth or larger hit it long ago and knocked its axis over. The exact cause has not been proven.
- Astronomy Engine (Don Cross): planet positions, brightness, conjunctions, oppositions and elongations from VSOP87.
- NASA Planetary Fact Sheets: physical data of the planets.
- NOAA solar calculator equations: twilight times.
Visibility is checked for every day half an hour after evening civil twilight ends and half an hour before morning twilight begins: the planet counts as visible if it is more than 5° above the horizon then.