February 5, 2026: With Saturn and Neptune fading into twilight, Uranus is high in the southern sky after evening twilight ends. Use Taurus, the Pleiades, and nearby stars to locate the planet with a binocular.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:59 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:11 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Planet Uranus Visbility
With Saturn and Neptune beginning a slow descent into evening twilight, Uranus is in a prime viewing location after evening twilight ends, especially as the moon rises later each night. The best views of celestial bodies occur when they are in the southern sky and at their highest places in the sky.
Find Taurus
Step outside with a binocular about 90 minutes after sunset and look high in the southern sky for Taurus. Reddish Aldebaran is high in the south-southeast, above Orion. In celestial artwork, it marks the Bull’s eye. Along with the Hyades star cluster, it outlines the head. Explore this V-shaped grouping with the binocular.
Stars Elnath and Zeta Tauri extend eastward from the head at the horns’ points.
Resembling a miniature dipper, the Pleiades star cluster is on the Bull’s back, above the head. Explore the cluster with the binocular and compare the stars’ colors to those in the Hyades.
Binocular View
Uranus is in this region. From a rural setting with a dark sky, the planet is barely visible to the unaided eye, while from suburban locations it is easily visible through a binocular. Place the Pleiades toward the top of the field of view. Uranus appears near the bottom of the field, in the same region as stars 12 and 13 Tauri (Tau). The planet appears as an aquamarine star, contrasting to the blue-white and yellow-white stars nearby.
Uranus has ended its retrograde motion and is slowly moving eastward toward these two stars. Its position changes little from night to night. In a month, the planet is about twice as close to 13 Tauri as it is tonight.
On each clear night, look for Uranus high in the southern sky.
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