Appulse of Mars and Uranus, 2019 Feb 13

[BinocularSky]

There is an impending appulse (close approach) of Mars and Uranus, which offers an opportunity for those who have not yet seen Uranus to do so through binoculars. The appulse is actually on the 13th, but the planets will be below the UK horizon at that time, so for us they will appear closest on the evening of the 12th. The accompanying charts are:

• North Up, midnight (UT) positions.
• Zenith UP, 19:30 UT (i.e. just after the end of astronomical twilight) positions for my approximate location.

The red circle on the charts is 5deg diameter, i.e. the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars (in which Uranus is an easy object).

I hope you find this useful. Feel free to share this; acknowledgement for charts (produced with Guide v9.1) appreciated.