Exact date Scots could spot Pluto as dwarf planet reaches peak brightness
SPACE OUT Exact date Scots could spot Pluto as dwarf planet reaches peak brightness
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SCOTS may be able to catch a glimpse of Pluto this week as it reaches peak brightness.
The dwarf planet is set to be at its "best and brightest moment of the year", according to National Geographic.
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Pluto is set to be at its "best and brightest moment of the year"
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Stargazers will need a telescope if they want to catch a glimpse
Credit: Alamy
Pluto will be reach opposition - which means a planet is opposite the sun as viewed from Earth.
This means that the object rises as the sun sets and remains visible all night.
Pluto is in the same solar system as the Earth, but much further out, beyond the farthest planet from the sun, Neptune.
It is around 3.7 billion miles from the sun, and one of many minor planets beyond Neptune's orbit, called trans-Neptunian objects.
Pluto is also in the Kuiper belt, a collection of hundreds of thousands of icy minor planets and asteroids orbiting the sun out beyond Neptune.
On Friday, July 25, the dwarf planet will reach opposition which makes it the ideal time to catch a glimpse.
It remains near peak brightness for several days before and after opposition.
However, stargazers have been warned that, even at its brightest, Pluto is a "barely-there speck" even with a telescope.
The sky must also be extremely dark to see Pluto.
Light pollution, whether from street lights or the moon, will easily wash it out.
Stunned scientists uncover super-Earth planet that could finally reveal existence of aliens
Make sure you take a look at a star chart to determine the planet's location in the sky.
It will look just like one of the faint stars.
Pluto's status as a planet is one of the most controversial issues in the world of astronomy.
It's not currently classed as a planet. It is a minor, or dwarf, planet.
Pluto used to be the ninth planet in our solar system until the International Astronomical Union created a new system for classifying space objects in 2006.
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