Earth swings between sun and sideways planet
2 comments Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Friday, Sep 12 2008
Tonight, the Earth swings between the sun and the planet Uranus at 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Because Uranus is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky tonight, this world is out from sundown to sunup. But you’ll probably need binoculars and a good sky chart to see faint Uranus, the 7th planet outward from the sun.
Uranus is the only planet in our solar system with its rotational axis tilted over sideways. In other words, Uranus’ rotational axis almost lies in its orbital plane. Astronomers can’t seem to decide which pole is Uranus’ north or south pole.
If the Earth were flipped sideways – like Uranus – the sun would be pretty much overhead at the north pole on the June solstice. In June and July, most of the northern hemisphere would have 24 hours of daylight and most of the southern hemisphere would have 24 hours of night.
Nobody knows why Uranus’ axis is tilted over sideways. Some think it’s because a large body crashed into Uranus during the formative years of the solar system. Uranus has 27 known moons, all of them revolving around this planet’s equator. If a mighty collision turned Uranus sideways, did these moons form after or before this collision happened?
It looks like Neptune is somewhere in the Sun-Earth-Uranus alignment. Does Earth align Uranus to the south usually at this time of year {because Uranus is north in Feb’s Aquarius}?
Stratfort,
Earth swung in between the sun and Neptune about a month ago – on August 15, 2008. When the Earth swings in between the sun and an outer planet, that planet is said to be at opposition. Any planet at opposition is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky, so it’s out all night long, from sundown to sunup.
Uranus and Neptune return to opposition only a few to several days later each following year. Near year, for instance, Uranus will be at opposition on September 17, 2009, and Neptune will be at oppostion on August 17, 2009.
Bruce