The chart shows the path of Uranus across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +9.5 are shown. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction.
The lower chart shows how the appearance of Uranus changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds) and the geocentric distance (in au). Because the relative distance of Uranus does not greatly vary throughout the year, neither does its appearance through a telescope.
Uranus hovers around sixth magnitude so it is best viewed with some kind of optical aid from a dark location on a moonless night. The green ice giant spends the entire year in the constellation of Taurus, passing close by sixth-magnitude stars 13 Tauri and 14 Tauri in March. Venus and then Mercury glide past the faint planet just before it undergoes conjunction with the Sun in late May. Uranus is a morning sky object until September and comes to opposition in late November. The Moon nevers draws nearer than 5° to the distant world.
All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest hour unless otherwise indicated. Positions are geocentric apparent places and referred to the true equator and equinox of date.
| January | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00:00 | Taurus |
| 1 | 00:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude south: −0.1957° |
| 27 | 17:00 | 5.3° south of the Moon |
| February | ||
| 2 | 12:00 | stationary (right ascension): retrograde motion → direct motion |
| 4 | 02:00 | stationary (ecliptic longitude): retrograde motion → direct motion |
| 6 | 23:00 | maximum declination south: +20° 22′ 06.85″ |
| 16 | 05:00 | east quadrature |
| 23 | 22:00 | 5.4° south of the Moon |
| March | ||
| 18 | 03:00 | 0.2° south of 13 Tauri: magnitude +5.7, spectral type B |
| 23 | 06:00 | 5.3° south of the Moon |
| 26 | 21:00 | 0.1° south of 14 Tauri: magnitude +6.1, spectral type G |
| April | ||
| 19 | 16:00 | 5.2° south of the Moon |
| 24 | 02:00 | 0.8° south of Venus |
| May | ||
| 17 | 04:00 | 5.2° south of the Moon |
| 18 | 00:00 | 0.9° south of Mercury |
| 22 | 14:00 | conjunction (see explanation below) |
| 22 | 15:00 | maximum distance from Earth: 20.4772 au |
| June | ||
| 13 | 18:00 | 5.2° south of the Moon |
| July | ||
| 4 | 06:00 | 0.1° north of Mars |
| 11 | 06:00 | 5.3° south of the Moon |
| August | ||
| 7 | 15:00 | 5.4° south of the Moon |
| 28 | 22:00 | west quadrature |
| September | ||
| 3 | 21:00 | 5.4° south of the Moon |
| 10 | 19:00 | stationary (right ascension): direct motion → retrograde motion |
| 10 | 19:00 | stationary (ecliptic longitude): direct motion → retrograde motion |
| 10 | 23:00 | maximum declination north: +21° 06′ 10.25″ |
| October | ||
| 1 | 03:00 | 5.3° south of the Moon |
| 28 | 09:00 | 5.1° south of the Moon |
| November | ||
| 24 | 17:00 | 5.1° south of the Moon |
| 25 | 23:00 | minimum distance from Earth: 18.4441 au |
| 25 | 23:00 | opposition: magnitude +5.58, apparent angular diameter 3.72″ |
| December | ||
| 22 | 03:00 | 5.2° south of the Moon |
| January 2027 | ||
| 1 | 00:00 | maximum ecliptic latitude north: −0.1393° |
Because the orbits of the planets are tilted slightly to the plane of the ecliptic, a planet normally passes to the north or the south of the Sun at conjunction. However, if the planet is near a node (the place in the orbit where the planet crosses the ecliptic) when it reaches conjunction, the planet may appear to cross in front of or behind the disk of the Sun. This situation occurs in May when Uranus actually passes behind the Sun from the vantage point of Earth. (Uranus is only 0.2° south of the centre of the solar disk at the instant of conjunction.) This type of conjunction is sometimes called an anti-transit or secondary eclipse.
Copyright © 2026 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper