Uranus to begin reversing path across the night sky on Wednesday

UPI ^ | By Clyde Hughes

[Red Badger]

This image, taken by the Voyager 2 space probe in 1986, shows the blue-green appearance of Uranus. Photo courtesy NASA/Voyager 2

. . . .

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- As part of a cosmic phenomenon called retrograde motion, Uranus -- the second-to-last planet in our solar system -- will reverse its eastward course on Wednesday and begin moving west in the sky for a few months.

Retrograde motion occurs as the Earth moves around the sun and the stellar views at night change little by little. The orbit, in turn, makes objects like planets in our solar system move horizontally across the sky throughout the year.

All the outer planets of the solar system are affected by retrograde motion periodically before they reach opposition.

Uranus can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye, but retrograde motion requires a telescope or binoculars.

The ice giant will enter retrograde motion beginning at 9:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday and will remain in the motion until Jan. 22.

Astronomers advise skywatchers to look to the southeast between 10:46 p.m. and 5 a.m. when Uranus is above the horizon before dawn. Watchers can also use the stars in the constellation Aries to spot the blue-green planet.

"Uranus will be sitting at the bottom corner of a box formed by the 4th and 5th magnitude stars Botein or Delta Arietis, Epsilon Arietis, and Pi Arietis -- creating a distinctive asterism for anyone viewing Uranus," geophysicist Chris Vaughan said according to Space.com.

Centuries ago, the backward motion puzzled ancient observers because they couldn't explain why the planets shifted in the sky during the year when, they believed, they were in uniform circular orbits around the Earth.

[Songcraft]

The scientific/assternomical name for these kinds of FR “U” threads is “When The Twinkling Turns To Twerking”.

[SamAdams76]

Uranus - the bane of high school teachers everywhere.

[Eagles6]

Uranus threads are always creative and fun.🤣

[gw-ington]

Patient: "Doc, am I going to be alright?"
Doctor: "I'm not sure because Mercury is now in Uranus."
Patient: "Sorry but I don't know much about astronomy and space."
Doctor: “Neither do I, but my thermometer just snapped inside you."

[MtnClimber]

is Uranus backing up to Charlie Crist? He does not claim to be gay, but I bet he has DB. (B=breath)

[Red Badger]

Well, it IS in retro grade...................😜

[Songcraft]

"Couldn’t the guy who named this planet come up with a different name instead of Uranus?"

They say he had also considered calling it "Myanus", and "Heranus", and "Hisanus", before settling on "Uranus".

[MtnClimber]

Well, it IS in retro grade...................😜 Yes, and I bet Charlie is waiting.

[Red Badger]

He would be a ‘retro’ governor...................

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

I’m getting tired of all these juvenile jokes. Maybe rename it something bland like “Monkeypox” so we can all stop acting like 12 year olds.

[Leep]

They are renaming Uranus due to all the jokes about Uranus.
The new name will be Mianus.

[dsrtsage]

[gw-ington]

Couldn’t the guy who named this planet come up with a different name instead of Uranus?

Excellent question.

Many people say NASA is so tired of all the jokes made about Uranus, that it smartly decided to rename it Urectum.

[MtnClimber]

He was the governor with knee pads previously. We don’t need knee pads in the governor’s mansion any more.

[fwdude]

GAsAss would have been just as appropriate.

[EvilCapitalist]

High School? I remember learning the planet’s in 2nd grade. Of course I didn’t know any Uranus jokes back then.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Hey, if Jupiter has a red spot from a storm, what color spot do you suppose Uranus would have?

[fwdude]

I can remember seeing several job postings for “financial analysts.”

The “-ysts” were often times truncated off.

[farmguy]

Someone told it to get uranus back here.

[EvilCapitalist]

I know, I know. Pick me.