Uranus And Neptune--With An 'Aided' Eye

It took this exposure of one minute at f/3.4, and 320 ISO to resolve the planets Uranus and Neptune through hazy summer night skies around 12:55 AM, Saturday, July 30, 2011. This view looks southeast toward Marion, Iowa from Boyson Road near Timber Oak Court. The light source at lower left is a transformer power station on Alburnett Road. The 5.78 magnitude Uranus is identified by the left arrow and the 7.83 magnitude Neptune by the right arrow. Neptune's streak has been slightly enhaced for better visibility. It is possible to view the faint Uranus with the (good) naked eye, but Neptune is invisible to it. Both planets can be easily observed by using a simple pair of binoculars. Uranus was probably seen but not identified as a planet centuries before its official discovery in 1781. Neptune was discovered in 1846, mainly because of its mathematically predicted orbit. Neptune will reach its 2011 peak visibility on August 22.