Uranus and Neptune: well placed for viewing

Event Date: November 29th

Time: 6:00 PM

Brief

   Let's take a look at our very-outer planets in the early evening sky, now that the Moon is out of the way for at least a short while, before rising.  Uranus and Neptune are often overshadowed by the much brighter planets closer to the Sun than them, which is no surprise.  However, these planets seem to resemble each other more than any other two-planet combination, which I will mention more in the detailed section.

   Here are the two planets seen near transit altitudes.  I picked a time for when the sky is dark enough for a viewer to start seeing Neptune through a telescope, while the big, waning gibbous Moon is still just below the horizon.  The planets are far enough from the Moon in separation, that the glare won't really get in their way for a few more hours.  However, if you are in a location normally dark enough to normally (barely) see Uranus, that will not be possible once the Moon gets high enough.

click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Detailed

     Neptune is about 41º in altitude, just shy of its maximum which it reached [at transit] 17 minutes ago.  Uranus is about 1 hour, 50 minutes from transit, using the time above.  When at viewing the two planets through a powerful-enough telesecope, and knowing characteristics of them, we can think about their similarities, as mentioned above in the brief.  Besides both being gas planets with high methane content (smelly too, I'm sure!), they are relatively the same size in diameter and therefore, volume.  Their colors are similar through most telescopes, while Uranus has more of a green hue than than Neptune's cold-deep blue color.  For more on their "sister-like" similarities, read this interesting link: 

On a similar note, one of our current morning planets, Venus, is often considered Earth's "twin".  Such a term, is a result of the two being very similar in diameter; moreso than Uranus and Neptune.  Neptune is about one Earth-diameter smaller than Uranus.  Sticking with the outer gas giants, their orbital periods are longer than many people live...at least Neptune's which of 164 years is coincidentally, almost exactly twice that of Uranus' 84 years.