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A nice little observation challenge.
I was hoping to see Mars be nearly in line very close to planet Uranus (a good chance to know one is looking at Uranus); it looks iffy. BUT if the sky in the west lets Venus and Mars shine this evening, just as the sky gets dark, one might, with the help of Mars, spot Uranus in a pair of reasonably good, focused binoculars.
Venus will identify itself by its extreme brightness above the western horizon. Mars is next brightest, about 10 o'clock above Venus (looking slightly reddish). With Mars centred in the binocs, Uranus is a much dimmer light, slightly above left of Mars (close, between 9 and 10 o’clock from Mars). There is a slightly brighter star about the same separation below Mars, at about 5 o’clock. Tomorrow night Uranus and Mars will be side by side. Refer to my little symbolic text-sketch (if is stays together). Uranus is not visible with the unaided eye. This close pass of Mars makes it easy to locate the normally much more elusive Uranus.
Light from Venus takes between 3 and 4 minutes to reach Earth. Light from Mars takes between 16 and 17 minutes. Light from Uranus takes about 3 hours to reach us (about 172 minutes).
Uranus -- .
Mars -- *
'
Venus -- @
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