The distant ice giants are presently being watched with Hubble and New Horizons. Scientists need to add your photos to the combination.
Uranus (left) and Neptune are our solar system’s most distant planets. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech; NASA
The New Horizons spacecraft is probably most well-known for revealing the icy world Pluto in 2015, flying by the distant dwarf planet and sending again gorgeous imagery of a dynamic world. However the spacecraft’s mission was removed from over. This week, New Horizons and the Hubble House Telescope are teaming as much as observe Uranus and Neptune, the 2 least-visited worlds in our solar system. And NASA needs your assist with the duty: The company is asking beginner astronomers to submit their very own observations of those planets this week and subsequent week to assist with this historic enterprise to raised perceive the distant worlds.
Uranus and Neptune have been visited — briefly — by spacecraft solely as soon as, when Voyager 2 flew previous Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Since then, our observations of the worlds have been restricted to ground-based and Earth-orbiting telescopes — a difficult activity, given their huge distances of 1.67 billion miles (Uranus; 2.7 billion kilometers) and a pair of.7 billion miles (Neptune; 4.3 billion km) from Earth.
New views
New Horizons can present one thing distinctive: a backward-looking view of the planets from its vantage level deep within the Kuiper Belt past Neptune, the place Pluto and lots of different icy worlds reside. So, whereas Hubble might be trying on the planets’ illuminated sides because the they seem with Earth between them and the Solar, New Horizons will snap images of their darkish “backsides” with the Solar within the distance, because the planets sit between our star and the spacecraft. The geometry works out so effectively as a result of Neptune reaches opposition right now (Sept. 19), whereas Uranus is shut, reaching opposition in two months, on Nov. 13.
In a press release, NASA highlights the necessity for beginner observations, which might monitor traits akin to brilliant options within the ice giants’ atmospheres. With New Horizons and Hubble concentrating on seeing the best particulars potential, the extra world views offered by beginner scopes stay very important to portray a whole image of the planets. Moreover, observing time with New Horizons and Hubble is extraordinarily restricted. Amateurs can proceed recording information lengthy after the 2 spacecraft, additional enhancing our understanding of present circumstances.
Find out how to contribute
So, what does the crew want from beginner observers? For those who’ve bought a good-sized scope and pictures capabilities, NASA is asking you to publish your photos of Uranus and Neptune taken this week and subsequent week on-line, both on X (previously generally known as Twitter) or Fb, and use the hashtag #NHIceGiants. Be sure to incorporate data such because the date, time, and filter bandpass used to take every picture.
Alternatively, those that don’t use social media can submit their photos here. Equally, ensure that to incorporate date, time, and bandpass particulars for every picture, both within the filename or as a “readme” file in both textual content or Excel format.
The place and when to view the ice giants
Uranus and Neptune are presently seen a lot of the night time, with the previous rising and setting later than the latter.
Let’s begin with Uranus, now glowing at magnitude 5.7 within the constellation Aries. Rising round 9 P.M. native daylight time, you’ll need to give it a couple of hours to climb increased above the horizon. Round native midnight, Uranus stands some 30° excessive. You should use two brighter objects — Jupiter to its west and the Pleiades (M45) to its east — to find it. Uranus sits simply south of a degree roughly midway between these targets, some 7.8° east of Jupiter (additionally in Aries) and eight.5° west-southwest of the Pleiades (in Taurus). Its tiny, blue-gray disk seems simply 4″ throughout. You’ll be able to comply with Uranus all night time lengthy and into the predawn hours, because it units effectively after dawn.
Neptune, in the meantime, rises round sundown and units at dawn as a result of it’s at opposition. You can begin observing it earlier than Uranus however once more, take into account ready a couple of hours after sundown so it could actually climb up out of the thicker, extra turbulent air close to the horizon. At magnitude 7.7, Neptune can’t be seen with the bare eye below any circumstances. You’ll discover it in southwestern Pisces, beneath the Circlet asterism and a few 4.7° south-southeast of magnitude 4.5 Lambda (λ) Piscium. It additionally presently lies about ¼° west of magnitude 5.5 20 Piscium and is touring slowly southwestward over the subsequent week. The planet’s bluish disk is even smaller, due to its larger distance, and seems 2″ vast.
Observing the solar system’s most distant planets is difficult however a worthy endeavor to undertake. Yow will discover extra particulars on viewing these planets this month both on our Sky This Month page or on the New Horizons’ team’s page. The latter web page additionally has particulars concerning the New Horizons and Hubble observations of every planet.
