Today, August 22nd 2011 planet Neptune will be at opposition. This means that the Sun, the Earth and the planet Neptune all lie in the same line. At opposition the planet Neptune will have a mean distance of 4357.31 million kilometres. The planet can be picked up easily through a pair of binoculars as the magnitude of the planet will be around 7.8. Now the planet is in the border of constellations Capricorn and Aquarius. The planet Neptune will rise around 6:30pm and will set in early morning well placed for night long observations.
Here are star maps that will be helpful in finding the planet. The map time is 9:30 when the planet’s altitude will be 40 degrees from the eastern horizon.
