The romantic view of the solar system from 1000 AU

[ES...@dfvlrop1.bitnet]

Once more I must play the role of "spoiler". If one had this romantic

view of the solar system from 1000 AU, all he would see is the sun. A

simple "back of the envelope" calculation reveals that the brightest

planet from this vantage point would be Jupiter. However it would have

an apparent magnitude of 9.13. For comparison the planet Uranus being

viewed from the Earth has an apparent magnitude of 5.7 (the smaller the

number the brighter it is). Uranus is in theory, just barely visible

to the naked eye. I've tried to see it without a telescope and failed.

Even with a telescope it's hard to find. Since Jupiter is much dimmer

at 1000 AU, I don't think the view from that lonely outpost would be

very interesting. Gary Allen