You’re still going to need a telescope to get a good look at Neptune.
To the glee of astronomers far and wide, Neptune will be at opposition tonight – but what does this mean?
When we say that a planet ‘is at opposition’, this means that the Earth is situated directly between that planet and the sun.
So, in this case, the Earth shall be situated directly between Neptune and the sun.
During opposition, planets will look bigger and brighter for a number of weeks – a wonderful sight for stargazers and astronomers!
That being said, Neptune will be most visible between 9pm tonight and 5am tomorrow morning, so plan ahead!
As the eighth planet from the sun, Neptune takes around 165 years to orbit the sun. Since it’s so far away, Neptune is the only major planet that is practically invisible to the naked eye, even at its most prominent.
So, it goes without saying that you’ll definitely need binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune in the night sky.
Additionally, we highly recommend finding a dark spot, away from any light pollution, if you plan on spotting Neptune. Some ideal locations would be Mellieħa’s Selmun, l-Aħrax, and Armier; Dingli Cliffs, Mġarr’s Fomm ir-Riħ, and Żebbuġ and Nadur in Gozo.
Are you looking forward to this celestial event?
@nasa/Instagram, @uwmplanetarium/Instagram, Davide Seddio/Flickr