Uranus approaches opposition.

The planet Neptune will reach opposition (i.e. be directly opposite the Sun seen from Earth) at 2.36 am GMT on Saturday 16 November 2024. This means that it will both be at its closest to the Earth this year, about 18.57 AU (18.91 times the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, or about 2 778 000 000 km), and completely illuminated by the Sun. While it is not visible to the naked eye observer, the planets have phases just like those of the Moon; being further from the Sun than the Earth, Neptune is 'full' when directly opposite the Sun. 

The orbits and positions of Earth, Uranus, and the planets of the Outer Solar System at 2.00 am GMT on Saturday 16 November 2024. JPL Small Body Database.

While the relative positions of the planets have no direct influence on life on Earth, the opposition of Saturn does present the best opportunity for observations of the planet by Earth-based observers. Uranus is never visible to the naked eye, but on Saturday 16 November the planet will be visible with a reasonable telescope in the constellation of Taurus, reaching its highest in the sky at about midnight.

Image of Uranus made with the Near-Infrared Camera on the James Webb Space Telescope, showing Uranus’s seasonal north polar cap and dim inner and outer rings, as well as  9 of the planet’s 27 moons – clockwise starting at 2 o’clock, they are: Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Portia, Juliet, and Perdita. NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency/Space Telescope Institute.

Uranus orbits the Sun at an average distance of 19.2 AU, completing one orbit around the Sun every 84 years. This means that the planet is almost stationary compared to the faster moving Earth, so that it reaches Solar Opposition only four days later each year than the year before, and reaches conjunction (when it is directly behind the Sun seen from the Earth), roughly six months later.

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