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This weekend , Mars and Uranus will look just two breadth of a full lunar month aside as they go into a rarefied planetary continuative in the constellation of Aries .
It ’s a rarefied opportunity to see dimUranus , which is typically hard to find in the Nox sky , but also to glimpse a brightening Mars .
Mars and Uranus will align in the night sky this weekend in a planetary conjunction.
Use any pair of binoculars and it will be possible to see both planets in the same field of perspective .
The quaternary and seven planets fromthe sunwon’t really be nigh to each other . In fact , they ’ll be about 1.6 billion miles ( 2.6 billion kilometers ) from each other , but in the early hours of Monday , Aug. 1 they will appear just over 1 degree apart in the nighttime sky .
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When and where to see the Mars-Uranus conjunction
The consequence of close conjunction will vary according to your exact location , but any Nox this weekend and into former next hebdomad will volunteer spectacular views of Mars and Uranus in conjunction . They will arise together in the east around midnight local metre as seen in the Northern Hemisphere and be seeable high up in the southeast until about two hours before sunrise .
Look around 1:00 a.m. local time where you are , with the very unaired conjunctive visible early on Monday ( Aug. 1 ) and Tuesday ( Aug. 2 ) .
You should also be able to see the Pleiades — the smart open cluster of champion in the nighttime sky — close to the two satellite .
How to see the Mars-Uranus conjunction
Although it ’s technically possible for some stargazers to see Uranus with the au naturel eye under perfectly glowering conditions , it ’s a much better stake to practice binoculars or a belittled telescope . Binoculars will reveal both planets in the same field of eyeshot . Mars will look cherry while Uranus a blue - dark-green hue .
Another option is to watch a live webcast by the Virtual Telescope Project , which will be broadcastinglive views of the Mars - Uranus conjunctionthrough a telescope from Rome , Italy at 9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 1 ( 01:00 coordinated universal time on Aug. 2 ) .
Why Mars is brighter than Uranus
The two planets will not be the same brightness during their conjunction . Mars is step by step lighten up in the night sky as it get closer toEarthand will this weekend it will glow at a order of magnitude of 0.2 , which is about the same as a bright star . It will be about 130 million miles ( 208 million km ) from Earth . That ’s a lot close than the much larger ice - behemoth Uranus , which will be a whopping 2 billion miles ( 3.2 billion kilometre ) distant and will shine at a magnitude of just 5.8 . That ’s right on on the limit of naked - eye visibility .
The outer planets and opposition
— ' Diamond pelting ' on Uranus and Neptune seems likely
— scientist make most elaborate map of Uranus ' mysterious auroras
— Water on Mars may have flowed for a billion days longer than thought
Mars is now getting brighter because it ’s waxing toward its opponent , which is when Earth is between a planet and the sun . As a result , that satellite looks its bright and is seeable all night . All outer planets from Earth come to opposition in our Nox sky . Since Mars take 687 Earth days to orbit the sunlight — roughly two Earth year — the Red Planet comes to foe every 26 months . That will next happen on Dec. 8 , when Mars will reach a brightness magnitude of -1.9 — about the same as Sirius , the brightest star in the night sky .
The much ho-hum Uranus , which choose 84 Earth year to make one orbit , come to opposition once per Earth year . Uranus is next at opposition on Nov. 9 , but its massive space from us mean even then it will only shine at a order of magnitude of just 5.7 .
Uranus never gets big or bright for us Earthlings , which is why this weekend ’s conjunction with Mars is a rare opportunity to find out the seventh major planet with your own center .
Originally published on Live Science .
