Mercury and Uranus

Mercury and Uranus will meet up in the dawn over the next few days. The pair is separated by about 3° this morning. Tomorrow morning the separation will have diminished to about 2°19′. Close approach will be on the morning of April 22nd at almost exactly 2&deg. On the 23rd the separation will have increased to 2°14′. Both planets will be well up, about 17° elevation at sunrise.

While Mercury is easy to pick out with the unaided eye. Uranus will require at least a pair of binoculars to see at 5.9 magnitude. The close approach will aid in finding the outer planet. Check your charts, there are a couple 6th magnitude stars just as close to Mercury to confuse for the dimmer planet.

Author: Andrew

An electrical engineer, amateur astronomer, and diver, living and working on the island of Hawaiʻi.

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