Uranus at opposition
Uranus reaches opposition when Earth passes between the sun and the 7th planet Uranus.
As the sun and Uranus are on opposite sides of the Earth during opposition, they appear on opposite sides, or 180° apart, in our sky.
As a result, Uranus rises in the east when the sun sets in the west, reaches its highest point in the sky at midnight when the sun is below your feet, and sets in the west when the sun rises in the east.
Uranus is best visible around opposition
Uranus at opposition marks the best time to see the outer planet, as it’s visible throughout the night under clear skies. More precisely, it signifies the middle of the best time of the year to observe the planet.
After opposition, Uranus disappears from the morning sky gradually as it rises and sets four minutes earlier each day.
So, one month after opposition, Uranus rises 4*30 minutes = 120 minutes = 2 hours before sunset and sets 2 hours before sunrise.
So, three months after opposition, Uranus is visible in the evening sky only as it rises 6 hours before sunset, i.e., at noon, and sets 6 hours before sunrise, i.e., at midnight.
Uranus is closest, largest and brightest around opposition
Uranus is closest to Earth around the time of its opposition because the sun, Earth, and Uranus are all lined up in a straight line, and Uranus is located on the same side of the sun as Earth around the time of its opposition.
Uranus at opposition and the closest approach of Uranus to Earth would occur at the same time if the orbits of Earth and Uranus were perfectly circular.
Uranus appears largest and brightest in our sky around the time of its opposition, as it marks the closest approach of Uranus to Earth.
Uranus at opposition in 2025
Uranus will reach opposition on November 21, 2025, at 13:00 UTC (8 a.m. EST).
Best time to see Uranus in 2025: Uranus will be best visible from early November through early December in 2025, when the planet rises in the east around the time of sunset and is visible all night.
Closest approach of Uranus to Earth in 2025: Uranus will be closest to Earth on November 21, 2025, i.e., on the day of its opposition in 2025. During the closest approach, Uranus will be 18.51 A.U., i.e., 2.77 billion km away from Earth.
Brightness at opposition: At its November 21 opposition, Uranus will be brightest for 2025 and will shine with a magnitude of +5.6.
Disk size at opposition: At its November 21 opposition, Uranus will be largest in size for 2025 and will appear 3.8 arcseconds in diameter through a telescope.
Constellation at opposition: At its November 21 opposition, Uranus will be located in the zodiac constellation Taurus, the Bull.
How often does Uranus reach opposition?
Uranus takes about 84 Earth years to orbit the sun once. So when our Earth makes one full orbit around the sun, Uranus travels 1/84 of the way around the sun. So to create Uranus’s opposition, our Earth would have to travel an extra 1/84 of the way in its orbit, which takes about (1/84)*365 = 4 days to travel.
That’s why planet Uranus reaches opposition once every 1 year and 4 days, or 369 days.
Dates of Uranus’s opposition
Here are the dates of Uranus’s opposition from 2024 to 2029, according to NASA:
| Date of opposition | Date of closest approach | Distance of closest approach (A.U.) |
|---|---|---|
| November 17, 2024 | November 17, 2024 | 18.57 |
| November 21, 2025 | November 21, 2025 | 18.51 |
| November 25, 2026 | November 26, 2026 | 18.44 |
| November 30, 2027 | November 30, 2027 | 18.38 |
| December 3, 2028 | December 4, 2028 | 18.31 |
| December 8, 2029 | December 8, 2029 | 18.24 |
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