المملكة: Jeddah Astronomy: The end of the retrograde movement of Uranus and the beginning of its gradual disappearance from the sky

The Astronomical Society in Jeddah Today, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, the planet Uranus reaches the end of its retrograde movement, reappearing as if it is moving toward the east among the stars, after months of apparent movement toward the west.

The president of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah, Engineer Majid Abu Zahra, stated that what is known as retrograde motion is not a real movement of the planets, but rather an optical illusion resulting from the difference in the speed of the Earth’s movement around the sun compared to the outer planets, as the planet appears from the Earth’s perspective as if it is moving in the opposite direction to its usual direction for a while. A specific period of time, although it continues in its natural orbit.

He pointed out that Uranusreached opposition to the sun on November 21, 2025, which is the best time to observe it, as it was at the relatively closest point to Earth according to astronomical standards, and it remained bright in the sky throughout the night. As the retrograde motion ends, the best observing periods begin to decline, as the planet gradually begins to disappear into the evening twilight over the coming weeks.

Abu Zahra explained that Uranus will appear during the coming period at its highest point in the sky about four minutes earlier each night, before it approaches the sun and becomes more difficult to monitor, which makes the current period a relatively last opportunity for amateur astronomers to follow the planet before it gradually retreats from the night scene.

The Jeddah Astronomical Society confirmed that following the movement of the planets and apparent changes in the sky represents an important scientific method for understanding the dynamics of the solar system, and also contributes to promoting culture. Astronomical observation for those interested and amateurs.

The association indicated that the attached image of the planet Uranus was taken using the Celestron C14 Edge telescope and an ASI 224MC camera with a long-wave RG610 filter, and was processed with Autostakkert and Affinity Photo programs to improve details, while comparing colors and visual characteristics with reference data from the Hubble telescope to ensure the accuracy of the visual representation of the planetary disk.