LOS ANGELES - The distant blue planet Uranus will reach its closest point to Earth Thursday — and may be visible to skygazers.
According to EarthSky, Uranus will reach a point in its orbit known as "opposition," meaning that it will be opposite the sun from the vantage point of Earth.
False color composite photograph of planet Uranus, taken by Voyager 2 on January 26, 1986. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) The seventh planet from the Sun will remain 2.8 billion kilometers from Earth as it comes to the point of opposition, which is more than twice as far as Saturn and between four and five times Jupiter’s distance.