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posted March 02, 2006 06:18 AM
  
http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/tonightssky.php?date=20060301
Tonight's Sky
Uranus reaches conjunction today Visualization Only -- Looking West-Southwest Shortly Before Sunset
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Today the planet Uranus cannot be seen in the night sky. Of course, Uranus is never visible in the same sense that Jupiter and Saturn are, anyway. It’s never easy to see with the eye alone. It reaches what is called its "conjunction." That is when a planet, in this case a superior planet (a planet that orbits the sun outside of Earth's orbit -- such as Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto), is located on the opposite side of the sun as viewed from Earth. (On today's chart, we marked Uranus in black just to show its position behind the sun.) It is therefore impossible to see such a conjunction because the sun blocks our view of the planet. Even an inferior conjunction, or one where an inferior planet (Mercury or Venus) passes in front of the sun -- is rarely possible to see (the June 2004 transit of Venus being a notable exception.) Consequently, when Earth reaches inferior conjunction with respect to the view on a superior planet, that superior planet is said to be "in opposition" with respect to our planet. Most recent examples include Saturn's opposition on January 27th and Mars' opposition on November 7th of last year. If you're a visual learner, then this diagram may be helpful. -Lisa Atkinson
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