Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, will be visible to the naked eye Thursday night — and may be visible through a telescope for the entire month.
If one peers towards the heavens, they’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the planet in the southeast sky of the United States. Those who can’t see the planet glimmering up above can use binoculars, which should help with visibility. There are also stargazing apps such as Skyview which can help you locate it if you're not sure.
The blue-green planet was discovered in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel, who first anted to call it Georgium Sidus, according to NASA. But, Johann Elert Bode intervened, and managed to get the planet named Uranus, after the Greek god of the sky.
Uranus is a cold an windy planet, and has the third largest diameter of all planets in the solar system. It also uniquely rotates on a 90 degree tilt from its axis.
The blue-green hue of the planet is caused by methane, which is abundant in the planet’s atmosphere.
The planet is surrounded by at least 13 faint rings, and 27 moons.
The planet’s radius measures 15,759 miles, making it four times wider than Earth. To put that in perspective: If Earth were the size of an American nickel, Uranus would be the size of a softball in comparison.
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