Uranus
Latest about Uranus
![NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft captured this image of the planet Uranus on Dec. 18, 1986.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/e6r6wBmmBoK8SbhqATSBgg-320-80.jpg)
How to see Uranus in the night sky (without a telescope) this week
By Joe Rao published
Just how many planets are visible without a telescope? Most people will answer "five," but there is a sixth planet that can be glimpsed without visual aid: the planet Uranus.
![NASA's new Sunset Simulator reveals what a sunset would look like on Uranus and other worlds.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8uUz6uCz7f5JgZ75LgA9Cc-320-80.jpg)
See a sunset on Uranus, other worlds (and a moon, too) in this NASA simulator
By Chelsea Gohd published
If you watched the sun set on Uranus, the sky would start off as a brilliant blue and fade into deeper blues with striking turquoise notes. So how do we know that?
![Uranus is uniquely tipped over among the planets in our solar system. Uranus' moons and rings are also orientated this way, suggesting they formed during a cataclysmic impact which tipped it over early in its history.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4sDxSgPs9cWzwU7oyETaee-320-80.jpg)
What smacked Uranus on its side? Something icy and as massive as Earth, scientists say.
By Mike Wall last updated
Astronomers have worked out details of the giant impact that knocked Uranus so famously askew.
![An image of the planet Uranus taken by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nyftjaXvzxWgq2JijWXx8j-320-80.jpg)
Uranus Shines at Its Brightest Tonight: Here's How to See It
By Elizabeth Howell published
You can catch Uranus, one of the solar system's most distant planets, at its brightest tonight.
![Skywatchers can find Uranus and the Moon sharing the sky today (Aug. 21).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bgbnFsjez7RdDUd9TXuPz8-320-80.jpg)
Look Up! Uranus and the Waning Gibbous Moon Share the Sky
By Chelsea Gohd published
Just before dawn today (Aug. 21), skywatchers will be able to spot both Uranus and the waning gibbous moon.
![Tonight, Aug. 12, 2019, Uranus will reverse direction and begin a westward loop.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bznQWhadWvtJvJu7xqgmFZ-320-80.jpg)
Uranus 'Backs Up' in the Night Sky Ahead This Week's Full Moon
By Chelsea Gohd published
Tonight, Aug. 12, Uranus will reverse direction and begin a westward, retrograde loop that will last into mid-January, 2020.
![A composite image of the atmosphere and rings of Uranus seen in thermal emission.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ayFeWrUJuN7HCN9SPnfE4S-320-80.jpg)
A Mysterious Glow Warms Rings of Uranus
By Elizabeth Howell published
Some sort of a heat wave has warmed the rings of Uranus, even though the planet orbits far away from the sun.
![Uranus, like its neighbor Neptune, has only been studied once, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft — which captured this image on Dec. 18, 1986.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vdepQMahS58fKPyQkYeFRA-320-80.jpg)
Scientists Want to Probe Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune
By Meghan Bartels published
It's been decades since a spacecraft visited either Uranus or Neptune — which means scientists are busy dreaming up instruments that could be flown out on the next probe to these ice giants.
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