my sixth planet

I’ve seen all the naked eye planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.  In fact, Venus, Mars and Jupiter have all been readily visible the last few nights.

But tonight was a first: Uranus is quite close to Venus, and so finadable with binoculars, particularly with the 15×70 pair we bought for comet ISON (but then never saw comet ISON). So, tonight I saw Uranus for the first time.

Some people can allegedly see Uranus with the naked eye; I certainly can’t.  And with tonight’s slightly hazy sky, it was a very faint dot, even with binoculars.

Phil Plait’s photo of Venus and Uranus

I didn't manage a full four planet night this time, as Mars was too low by the time I went out, but still.  Six planets!