Finding Uranus - Serious Astronomy - Really !

[gaa_ian]

For the old hands here this will be routine ...
But I am sure there are some here who have not taken up the challenge of finding Uranus (or Neptune)
I have written a short article that can be viewed here:

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=847290

Happy Hunting !

[erick]

Thanks Ian. It's about time I went searching for these planets I have yet to see. This weekend is looking promising! :thanks:

[citivolus]

Makes me feel like a cheater for hitting "goto". Almost :)

I was comparing the two of these a few weeks back, and admit that it was nice to be able to quickly flip back and forth between them, something which I could not have done easily without a goto scope. I do admit that it takes a lot of the sense of accomplishment out of the find, though.

[Solanum]

I've looked for Uranus and Neptune a few times in the last couple of months. Uranus has been easy, Mag 5.something and a clear disk (albeit small) with relatively low magnification.

I have found Neptune much harder because it is fainter, Mag 7.something, so difficult to distinguish from the surrounding stars and is only a clear disk under relatively high magnification, even then it is very small. I've had to print out detailed charts down to mag 10 or so and had about three tries before I was confident that I'd got it.

I think they are both past their best for the time being aren't they?

[saberscorpx]

re: I think they are both past their best for the time being aren't they?


That's what I like about these reliable giants; they can spend several years in the same constellation while remaining within a few tenths and tenths of arcseconds from their opposition mag and size.
Always good eye candy.

And yes, Uranus and Neptune's 2007 oppositions were on Sep 7 and Aug 13.

Very nice article.


SJS

[Dez]

Thanks for linking the article! I'm yet to find either planet so will give it a go before they are too low in the sky.

[goober]

Good stuff. I try and bag them once a year and usually manage it. Uranus is easy, Neptune is much more difficult - dimmer and more 'star like'.

[cahullian]

I spent a few frustrasted nights looking for them last year but managed to track them down eventually. It was one of those moments that I will never forget. I started doing a jig (just as well it was dark). I'm sure it was an ugly sight.

Gazz

[erick]

I'm sure I found Uranus last night. Not quite where Stellarium was suggesting, but a definite blue object which, under magnification, was not a point source. But seeing was not great and I couldn't bring up a disc. Left it a bit late, so didn't go for Neptune. I think that might have been a significant challenge.

[Astro78]

Well didn't find Uranus that easy to spot. The announcement inside sounded a bit odd too! Not quite as welcoming as say "I just found a galaxy" :sadeyes:

[gaa_ian]

Glad to see you guys having a go at this ...
I did it myself the other night and after about 10 minutes and with a few eyepiece swaps I found Uranus.
An 8mm Radian showed it up quite nicely !
My western horizon is not so good so I gave Neptune a miss, but I have tracked it down before.

[goober]

Well done, Eric. I see Neptune as a faint pale blue disk. Uranus is much more green, and quite a bit brighter.

[Solanum]

I concur, Uranus through my scope is a pale green-blue colour and a distinct disk with a 14 mm eyepiece. Using a Mag 6 or 7 chart I can locate it with the finder easily. Neptune is a pale blue and required 6 mm eyepiece to get a distinct disk, though it doesn't quite look like a point source with 14 mm.

I get a real kick out of observing Uranus and Neptune, although you have no chance of seeing surface features, and very little chance of seeing Titania, there is something special about resolving those planets from so far away.

[erick]

I'm going to have to go back again, under better seeing - and remember to start earlier in the evening and not get diverted by those pesky galaxies! :D

[kiwidoc66]

Thanks for the post - found Uranus yesterday equidistant between lambda and phi Aquarius - looked like a disk through 10mm eyepiece, couldn't quite convince myself it was green though...

[erick]

Uranus, absolutely confirmed last night. Takes a bit of searching (and my new erect image adapter came into its own for the first time :party:. I could look from eyepiece to Stellarium display when I was in the right area.) Yes, could see the disc at 120x and, I agree, a green-blue colour.

Neptune is going to be a challenge - I might not get a chance this year.

[Solanum]

Excellent, good work. I think that as Neptune doesn't stand out in the way Uranus does, finding it depends on your ability to match the view through a low mag/wide field eyepiece to a star chart. A skill I am most definitely only just starting to learn (good job I didn't buy a goto scope eh?). If you can quickly work your exact eyepiece view on your charts it would be not to difficult.

As an aside I saw the 5th and 6th stars in the trapezium the other night, I hadn't even realised there was a sixth one till I saw it and then went and checked online. I had drawn them in just the right places without having known where they were in advance so was quite chuffed at that.