The Outer Planets

[Astralstroll]

I finally got to see Mercury last night. Not an outer planet I know, but it got me thinking about when it will be a good time to look for the outer planets, namely Uranus and Neptune.

Any tips on how to go about looking for these two?

[Moonshane]

I find this site very helpful http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/uranus.htm

[Puffafish]

NakedEyePlanets.com is good!

Stellarium is a good little program for finding planets etc: http://www.stellarium.org/

though admittedly it shows where things are now rather than where they will be over time...

[Dabajeh]

Waste of time looking at a dot

[Charon]

I have yet to view either Neptune or Uranus, yes I know they will be minute BUT at least I will have viewed them (hopefully soon).

[Astralstroll]

Well, finally managed to see these two. Not as spectacular as some of the planets, but still pretty impressive when you realise how at away they are.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I spotted Neptune again on August 13, from Tuscany. My first sighting was in 1996, when Uranus and Neptune were comparatively close together in the night sky. Yes, they are just blue-green dots, but the solar system grew a little in size in my mind. The colour is really curious.

[Demonperformer]

A couple of years ago, I followed Neptune over a period of a couple of weeks, taking piccies as it passed through an obvious star pattern. Animated those shots into a small movie and regularly got some "Ooo's" from people to whom I showed it. Quite a pleasing exercise.

[nightfisher]

On friday evening i thought i had found Uranus with my Tal, but on checking stellarium next day was wrong position, so i must have found a green star

[Superdavo]

I've only seen Uranus and Neptune once, when they were in conjunction with Venus. Uranus just looked like a star, and Neptune was a deep blue.

David

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

On friday evening i thought i had found Uranus with my Tal, but on checking stellarium next day was wrong position, so i must have found a green star

Or a near-stellar planetary nebula. The current area in the sky where Neptune is located is littered with these little PNs. They are actually called planetary nebulae because of their similarity to Uranus and Neptune. The term planetary was not coined for M27, M57, M76, or M97; they do not look the part. Only later did people realize these Messiers fit into the same class.

[David Smith]

In theory you can see Neptune's largest moon in amateur scopes of around 10 inches or more, something I must try at some point.