Asteroid Vesta and Planet Uranus

[Jim Smith]

If you're using binoculars or a small telescope at low magnification, asteroids and outer Solar System planets can be rather unspectacular. It's still interesting though to observe their changing positions from night to night. I was lucky enough to get two clear nights in close proximity to try this out. I have made a short video of Vesta and Uranus shot two nights apart. I haven't shown which of the objects are Vesta and Uranus but you should be able to detect them by their movement. (Hint: Vesta is in the bottom-right of the field, Uranus is roughly in the middle.)

The view is somewhat like what you would see through a small telescope at about 25x magnification.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Jim Smith

[joe aguiar]

Very cool

Joejaguar 

[maw lod qan]

Last week I had a good clear night and hoped to find Neptune and Uranus amongst the stars by their color.

With my 8" DOB and a 23mm I was unable to pick them out. 

I know they should be a tiny blue and green star, but I didn't see anything that stood out.

Should i be able to? Or are they going to be much smaller than I'm thinking?

[Jim Smith]

10 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Should i be able to? Or are they going to be much smaller than I'm thinking?

In my experience, the most reliable method to find them is by getting their exact, current position from an app like Sky Safari. The app will show which of the "stars" in the field of view is the planet you're looking for. They are both visible in binoculars.

They do look a bit different to the stars, (slightly different colour or perhaps a bit less twinkly) but at lower magnifications the difference isn't obvious to my eyes. I wouldn't be able to readily identify them without the app.

[pjsmith_6198]

Both are very small.   Under low magnification they look very star like.   You may have had them in your field of view.    Jim gave excellent advice.    Find their exact position with an app.     Then  increase the magnification until you see them as tiny disks.   Uranus is about twice the size as Neptune, but Neptune even under high magnification looks only a little bigger than this period "."  Sort of like one of Jupiter's moons.    To my eyes, Uranus is kind of grayish green but Neptune is a definite blue.   After you see  them the first time, it's easier to see  recognize them.  

Phil

[maw lod qan]

Like always, thanks for the information. I do hope to add the last two to my "have seen list."