Another Planet To Find

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30095, 1 April 1963, Page 9

Another Planet To Find

If the sky is perfectly clear and moonless, and the hazy glow of city lights is absent, it is possible for any person with average eyesight to see the planet, Uranus with the naked eye. Very few can claim to have seen Uranus without optical aid and for that reason it is not regarded as one of the visual planets, of which there are five: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The secret of success lies in knowing exactly when and where to look for it At present, Uranus is visible in the constellation Leo, not far from its brightest star, Regulus. The accompanying diagram shows exactly where Uranus may be found. The inset locates the area of the diagram with respect to the consellation Leo. which is easy to find. During the latter half of this month, when viewing conditions will not be spoilt by moonlight. Leo may be found due north about 9 p.m. All of the stars shown in

the inset should be clearly visible. They include the three stars drawn as such on the main diagram. Two more stars, which are depicted by crosses (upper right in diagram), are on the threshold of visibility with the naked eye, while those shown as dots should only be visible through binoculars or telescopes. One or two of them may be visible to those lucky persons who have very sharp eyes. Uranus is about as bright as the two stars shown as crosses, and is best found by using Regulus as a guide With the help of binoculars it is very easily identified—but that’s cheating!

Uranus is 1800 m miles from the sun, about 64 times larger than the earth, and is the third largest planet A 6in telescope reveals it to be a greenish disc with very little surface detail. It was discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781, although other astronomers had recorded it many years earlier and, taking it to be a star, had disregarded it.