Hate to break it to you, but billions of people can see Uranus tonight

Attention, inhabitants of the northern hemisphere of our fragile home world. You're about to get one of the best peeks at Uranus in years – because the strange alien planet will reach opposition with the Sun and be at the closest point in its orbit to Earth. On Thursday and Friday, Earth will be directly in between the second- …

[Pen-y-gors]

Re: Uranus's Moon

No, no, no...

Get the meme right - Bumholey McBumholeyface.

So tonight telescope users will exclaim "Wow Uranus looks big in this"

Now let the pun-fest commence...

[wolfetone]

Re: Uranus's Moon

"Get the meme right - Bumholey McBumholeyface."

Don't you actually mean: Ben Afleck?

[Rich 11]

Re: Uranus's Moon

called Bumholey

Admit it, you got that from Spitting Image.

[bombastic bob]

Re: Uranus's Moon

I thought it was called "dingleberry"

[Jamie Jones]

Re: Uranus's Moon

Yes, it was one of the classic sketches "featuring" the late Alastair Burnet, I remember it clearly..

EDIT: Ain't the intertube-er-me-jigs wonderful?

Found it: Alastair Burnet, Uranus, and Bumhole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHp9Cakv2Fg

[Jamie Jones]

Re: Uranus's Moon

Notice how some miserable bastard has downvoted all the "anus" posts? !

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Uranus's Moon

Early indications are that Uranus has a moon,

Having a moon with Uranus will land you in all sorts of trouble.

[plrndl]

Re: Uranus's Moon

Bottoms up!

[J. Cook]

As I was reading the article, I kept (intentionally) mis-pronouncing the name of the planet, putting emphasis on the first two letters.

Maturity: I've heard of it.

*glances at the two very large bouncers that have appeared next to him* I'm going, let me get my coat.

[Anonymous Coward]

That is how it is pronounced...*

* I am aware that recent attempts have been made to change the pronounciation in the UK, but they have failed. They can't come along and take Uranus just like that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Especially not through the back door.

[Jamie Jones]

"Recent attempts"? They've been trying to PCise it since the 80's!

I see it worked on J.Cook ... J - it's your anus. be proud of your anus!

[Anonymous Coward]

actually ...

"As I was reading the article, I kept (intentionally) mis-pronouncing the name of the planet, putting emphasis on the first two letters."

Actually the preferred pronunciation for any serious (grown-up) discussion of this fascinating planet ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Alexa! Show me pictures of Uranus.

Oh my!

[Anonymous Coward]

"Getting to see Uranus is something of a treat because it isn't usually this visible."

Mirror on the skirting board at 90 degrees and look between part of the constellation of Hercules. Helps with shaving as well.

[Jamie Jones]

Dis you know uranus has a heavy methane presence?

[Anonymous Coward]

Able to see the rings with binoculars?

Firstly, in the many years people have been looking at Uranus, the first image of the rings was from Voyager 2. If you can duct tape 2 hubble space telescopes together and get yourself into orbit, you might technically be using Binoculars, but there's one or two logistical problems there. However, I'm totally aware that the 'your anus' jokes are massively more important than, you know, writing stuff that's well.....accurate.

Secondly it's pissing down.

[redpawn]

Re: Able to see the rings with binoculars?

Well you might have trouble seeing the ring with binoculars, but if you de-focus a reflecting telescope you will see a very nice ring.

[LaeMing]

Re: Able to see the rings with binoculars?

Pissing-down. .... That's Urine-ous.

[Rich 11]

Re: Able to see the rings with binoculars?

Secondly it's pissing down.

Of course it's pissing it down. That's why the telescope was invented in Italy and not in England.

[CAPS LOCK]

"...the telescope was invented in Italy and not in England."

Err, that notable rain free country the Netherlands. Probably by Hans Lippershy. Check out the Wackpedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_telescope

[Anonymous Coward]

I refuse to look at Uranus ... no matter how cute it is!

[cray74]

Childish Name

Are we really going to have to wait until 2620 for astronomers to rename Uranus to something less open to childish jokes, like Urrectum?

[Chozo]

Re: Childish Name

Cornholio has a nice ring to it..

[ravenviz]

Re: Childish Name

Bumholio! I need TP!

[TRT]

Re: Childish Name

What's all this focus on bottoms anyway? Why not go for something short and snappy? Like 'Twat'.

[bombastic bob]

Re: Childish Name

why change it when not even the Romans did.

In both greek and roman mythology, it's "Uranus" for that guy, where as every other god apparently has a different name, they kept THAT one around after borrowing everything else from the greeks, and then changing the name - or at least that's what it SEEMS like...

but yeah I saw that episode of 'Futurama' also, the one with the 'Smell-o-scope'.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Childish Name

Could have been worse - wasn't Herschell's first proposal to call it 'George'?

[TRT]

Re: Herschell's first proposal

But when they discovered the annular dust clouds they'd have had to change it to Ringo.

[Alien8n]

Re: Herschell's first proposal

@TRT And as they didn't know it was a planet back then that would have made it Ringo Star

[TRT]

Re: Herschell's first proposal

@Alien8n That's true enough. And the Hubble telescope would have been called Lucy. Up there. In the sky. With diamonds.

[CentralCoasty]

Lets face it..... Uranus is probably the main reason most schoolboys have any interest at all in the stars... and the "renaming" has simply made it even more comical...

That said, down here its pouring so no chance of seeing it.... dont know what the chances of seeing from Sydney were anyway even if it wasnt!

So whilst all my northern friends enjoy staring at Uranus I'll have a beer........ (better than them staring at mine....)

[Mark 85]

Rain in here in Oregon so I'll not see Uranus.

[veti]

Excellent news

... But you could at least tell us a bit more about where to look for it. Which Zodiac sign is it in?

Cue "couldn't find Uranus with a map and a telescope" jokes...

[Paul Crawford]

Re: "Which Zodiac sign is it in?"

Well start with your date of birth...

[frank ly]

Re: "Which Zodiac sign is it in?"

I'd be happy with a compass direction followed by 'then thirty degrees up', or whatever. I'm no good at finding constellations etc. and can just about recognise the moon.

[Robin]

Re: "Which Zodiac sign is it in?"

and can just about recognise the moon.

Once you've got that skill nailed, you can work on distinguishing it from Empire space stations.

[bombastic bob]

Re: "Which Zodiac sign is it in?"

if it's opposite the sun, wait until midnight, then look due south, at an inclination of 30 degrees or so.

[Stoneshop]

Re: "Which Zodiac sign is it in?"

"Inflate to indicated pressure. No sharp objects."

[Faux Science Slayer]

Blue-green Uranus from Methane

Where did Uranus get all the dead dinosaurs to make all that Methane ?

"Fossil Fuel is Nuclear Waste" at CanadaFreePress, Sept 2010

(There is NO peak oil....only elitist lies)

[Ken Hagan]

Re: Blue-green Uranus from Methane

Who needs dead dinosaurs?

It's Uranus. It's 50,000 km across. Of course it's made of fart gas.

[Solarflare]

Re: Blue-green Uranus from Methane

I just made the mistake of looking at his past posts, to anyone who is thinking of doing the same: I strongly advise you to spare yourself.

[Alistair]

Re: Blue-green Uranus from Methane

@ Solarflare,

I feel for you -- hopefully you didn't get sucked into the website -- I think the mods keep that one around to point out to us paranoid cynical types that we really *aren't* that crazy.

[TRT]

Re: There is so peak oil...

How else do you think I get my hair so perfect?

[Jamie Jones]

Re: Blue-green Uranus from Methane

@Solarflare: You know that temptation you get when someone advises you against something?...

Arrgh, I've been lucky I've never "bumped into" him before.

A troll surely? I mean, surely no-one can be so ignorant on so many topics, and so stupid as to think they know what they're talking about?

[ravenviz]

Re: Blue-green Uranus from Methane

I'm just wondering why he hasn't fallen out of the bottom of the forums, with all those down votes!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sigh

Sigh, not one mention of its inhabitants, the Suppository people.

[Rich 11]

Re: Sigh

How did they get up there?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sigh

I tried suppositories once, absolutely useless, I might as well have stuck them up my arse.

[Paul Crawford]

Innuendo

The Italian brand.

[Anonymous Coward]

Could have used an accurate picture

With the ring properly being centered over the equator, rather than the 'lines' of the ring being over the equator - the 'empty' centre of the ring should be over the equator

[Jamie Jones]

Re: Could have used an accurate picture

With the ring properly being centered over the equator, rather than the 'lines' of the ring being over the equator - the 'empty' centre of the ring should be over the equator

But what's that got to do with anuses?

[ravenviz]

Re: Could have used an accurate picture

Shirley 'ani'?!

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Forecast: clouds!

Typical! Given the wide orbit, the view should be OK for quite a while around opposition, however so I might still have a shot at imaging it. Even then, in my 8" scope Uranus (stop sniggering at the back), is never an amazing site. I captured it last year with my C8, but it just shows up as a little ball of a curious blue green colour. Neptune is even smaller. Having said that, when I first bagged both Uranus and Neptune one summer night in 1995, I did feel the solar system had become bigger for me.

[Missing Semicolon]

Re: Forecast: clouds!

Yeah. If there is something to see in the sky, it WILL be raining. Or cloudy. Or some other piece of UK weather that makes the sky look like the inside of a snot-filled handkerchief.

Putting Astronomical events in a UK rag is just trolling.

[plrndl]

Avoirdupois

" 18.91 astronomical units"?

This is The Register. Let's have some proper el reg units.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Avoirdupois

that would be depth of an olympic swimming pools or length of a london bendy double decker, head to rudder (borrowed from the beeb)

[harmjschoonhoven]

Re: Avoirdupois

In 1676 Ole Rømer measured the speed of light from observations of Jupiter's moons as a little over three minutes per astronomical units. He did not know the actual length of 1 A.U. in Rijnlandse voeten, swimming pools (Olympic or otherwise), London double deckers or any other unit. For me 18.91 A.U. is still 157.27 lightminutes. Thank you.

[Unicornpiss]

Be sure to text all your friends..

Ur anus is visible tonite

[handleoclast]

What colour is Uranus?

The same colour as Mars.

Yeah, it's a very old joke. But all the other old jokes were already taken.

[CustardGannet]

@ Iain Thomson

Uranus is instantly recognizable thanks to its blue-green color, which is the result of the methane in Uranus tinting the atmosphere

Well played, sir !

[Len Goddard]

International Observe the Moon Night

Is that International as in all over the USA and bits of Canada?

[Anonymous Coward]

"slightly more easier to pick out"

Not merely slightly less difficulter?