Look up in the sky tonight; you might get to see a treat! Both Uranus and an active meteor showers will be visible tonight if you know what you're looking for. Tonight will be one of your best chances to see the planet Uranus because it is directly positioned between the Earth and the sun and is closer to the Earth. You will need some binoculars or a telescope to see it, though because it's not very bright even though this is the best chance to see it for a while. Uranus will rise in the eastern sky as the sun sets to the west. By midnight it will be more directly overhead and in the western sky by daybreak Friday morning. It looks more like a faint star, but if you're using binoculars, you might be able to see the bluish-greenish color of this planet.Â
The South Taurid meteor shower is also peaking tonight! This is a shower that is known for producing fireballs which look brighter than other shooting stars. In fact, a few of you have told us you've seen one in the last few days! The best chance to see a shooting star should be just after midnight tonight as the shower peaks. This is not a very busy shower, so we hope to get 5 meteors per hour maximum. The American Meteor Society also lists the Orionids, the North Taurids, and the Leonids as being currently active which may put a few extra shooting stars in the sky tonight. Plus we are in a new moon phase right now, so the brighter light from the moon won't get in your way of trying to see these features in the night sky.Â
