<p>I have made an interactive simulation of Uranus and its seasons at <a href="https://ecliptiqc.ca/UranusEN.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ecliptiqc.ca/UranusEN.php</a>. Playing with it, I get the north pole of Uranus pointing sunwards in early 1946 (my steps are 6 months, so I can’t be more precise for now).</p>
<p>The actual date may be slightly different, as I use a “fixed” orbit instead of the osculating elements, but it would be a few days or weeks off at most.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-12T03:09:55.780Z
2021-01-12T03:35:36.667Z
2021-01-12T03:35:36.667Z
Pierre Paquette
<p>According to JPL <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">HORIZONS</a>,
the sub-solar latitude on Uranus has maxima on 1946-04-03 and 2030-04-11,
and Uranus's heliocentric J2000 ecliptic longitude at those times is 77.54°.</p>
<p>If I put the pole coordinates from the IAU <a href="https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Docs/WGCCRE/WGCCRE2015reprint" rel="nofollow noreferrer">WGCCRE report</a>
through the NED <a href="https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/coordinate_calculator" rel="nofollow noreferrer">coordinate calculator</a>,
I get a J2000 ecliptic longitude of 77.65° for Uranus's south pole.
The solstice longitude is slightly different due to Uranus's orbital inclination.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-12T04:31:51.163Z
2021-01-12T04:31:51.163Z
Mike G
<p>When (yyyy-mm-dd) does the north pole of uranus most nearly point towards the sun?</p>
<p>The information I've found suggests this happened in 1944 or 1945, but would like to find a more precise date or alternately what the heliocentric longitude is.</p>
<p>The &quot;Poles of Astronomical Bodies&quot; article on Wikipedia lists the RA and Dec, but doesn't include the Geocentric distance (otherwise, I think I could just translate between geocentric and heliocentric coordinate systems and have my answer).</p>
<p>Thanks
Tim</p>

<planet><coordinate><uranus><pole>
When (yyyy-mm-dd) does the north pole of uranus most nearly point towards the sun?
TimAK
# When (yyyy-mm-dd) does the north pole of uranus most nearly point towards the sun?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-12)

When (yyyy-mm-dd) does the north pole of uranus most nearly point towards the sun?

The information I've found suggests this happened in 1944 or 1945, but would like to find a more precise date or alternately what the heliocentric longitude is.

The "Poles of Astronomical Bodies" article on Wikipedia lists the RA and Dec, but doesn't include the Geocentric distance (otherwise, I think I could just translate between geocentric and heliocentric coordinate systems and have my answer).

Thanks
Tim

**Tags:** planet, coordinate, uranus, pole


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-01-12. Score: 3

I have made an interactive simulation of Uranus and its seasons at <https://ecliptiqc.ca/UranusEN.php>. Playing with it, I get the north pole of Uranus pointing sunwards in early 1946 (my steps are 6 months, so I can’t be more precise for now).

The actual date may be slightly different, as I use a “fixed” orbit instead of the osculating elements, but it would be a few days or weeks off at most.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-12. Score: 2

According to JPL [HORIZONS](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi),
the sub-solar latitude on Uranus has maxima on 1946-04-03 and 2030-04-11,
and Uranus's heliocentric J2000 ecliptic longitude at those times is 77.54°.

If I put the pole coordinates from the IAU [WGCCRE report](https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Docs/WGCCRE/WGCCRE2015reprint)
through the NED [coordinate calculator](https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/coordinate_calculator),
I get a J2000 ecliptic longitude of 77.65° for Uranus's south pole.
The solstice longitude is slightly different due to Uranus's orbital inclination.


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