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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Major Bodies » 

Uranus

Altitude: -20.2°   Azimuth: 13.1°   Direction: North-North-East

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and it is the third-largest planet in the solar system. It has a diameter of 50,724 kilometers and a mass of 8.68 x 10^25 kilograms, making it about 14.5 times more massive than Earth. Uranus is an ice giant planet, primarily composed of water, methane, and ammonia, and has the coldest atmosphere in the solar system with temperatures that can dip down to -224°C (-371°F). The planet has a tilted axis of rotation, which causes it to rotate on its side with its poles pointing towards the sun. Uranus has a day length of approximately 17.2 Earth hours and an orbital period of 84 Earth years. The planet has 27 known moons, with the largest being Titania and Oberon. Uranus also has a faint ring system, which was discovered in 1977 during a stellar occultation. Uranus has been explored by only one spacecraft, NASA's Voyager 2, which flew by the planet in 1986, providing the most detailed images and data of the planet and its moons to date.

Uranus is currently in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 3,023,359,998 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of Uranus in Aries on March,19 2024
Map showing Uranus in Aries on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Uranus is 03h 10m 02s and the Declination is +17° 26’ 23” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Uranus is 5.83 (JPL).

03h 10m 02s
+17° 26’ 23”
Aries
5.83

Today's rise, transit and set times of Uranus from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 72.6°
Max altitude: 56.0°
Azimuth: 287.4°
  • Uranus is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, Uranus is barely visible to naked eye under a clear and dark sky, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

Uranus Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of Uranus
Map showing Uranus in Aries on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Uranus is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Uranus
RA: 03h 10m 02s
Dec: +17° 26’ 23”
Deep sky finder chart for Uranus
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Uranus?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Uranus in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Uranus Distance from Earth

The distance of Uranus from Earth is currently 3,023,359,998 kilometers, equivalent to 20.209913 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2 hours, 48 minutes and 4.8434 seconds to travel from Uranus and arrive to us.

3,023,359,998
20.209913
2 hours, 48 minutes and 4.8434 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Uranus from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Uranus from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Uranus from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Uranus to Earth

Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of Uranus to Earth happens on Sat Mar 21 2471 at a distance of 17.260466 Astronomical Units, or 2,582,128,904 kilometers:

Sat Mar 21 2471
2,582,128,904
17.260466

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Uranus Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Uranus, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Uranus as a function of time

Uranus Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Uranus. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 50724 km 3.9809
Mass 86.8103 x 1024 kg 14.5358
Density 1.27 gr/cm3 0.2303
Escape Velocity 21.38 km/s 1.9106
Sideral Rotation -17.2399 hours -0.7203
Absolute Magnitude -7.19
Geometric Albedo 0.51

Uranus 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Uranus computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Uranus in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Apparent DiameterDiameter Constellation
2024 Mar 12 03h 08m 54s +17° 21’ 46” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 13 03h 09m 03s +17° 22’ 23” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 14 03h 09m 12s +17° 23’ 00” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 15 03h 09m 23s +17° 23’ 39” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 16 03h 09m 32s +17° 24’ 16” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 17 03h 09m 41s +17° 24’ 56” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 18 03h 09m 51s +17° 25’ 36” 5.82 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 19 03h 10m 00s +17° 26’ 17” 5.83 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 20 03h 10m 10s +17° 26’ 57” 5.83 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 21 03h 10m 20s +17° 27’ 38” 5.83 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 22 03h 10m 31s +17° 28’ 21” 5.83 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 23 03h 10m 41s +17° 29’ 03” 5.83 3.5” Aries
2024 Mar 24 03h 10m 51s +17° 29’ 47” 5.83 3.4” Aries
2024 Mar 25 03h 11m 03s +17° 30’ 29” 5.83 3.4” Aries