How to find some trans-Neptunian objects in the night sky in July and August

Trans-Neptunian objects are the most distant solar system objects viewable from Earth. With some good equipment, a bit of luck, a bit of persistence and clear skies, you should be able to see some. Here's our guide to finding three trans-Neptunian objects in the July and August night sky. You can get more detailed information on where they are by visiting an online ephemeris generator such as that provided by JPL's HORIZONS system.

If you catch any of them, upload your images to our Flickr page - or drop us a line to [email protected] to let us know how you get on.

Haumea is a trans-Neptunian object that spins incredibly fast. It's so fast that the solid rock it's made of has flowed out to give it an elongated, rugby ball, shape. It has an average diameter of 1,400 km but, at its biggest, its diameter is 2,000 km. Its average distance form the sun is 43 astronomical units. This is where you'll find it during July and August, with a magnitude of +17.6.

Makemake is a very red trans-Neptunian object. It has an orbit similar to that of Haumea, inclined at about 30 degrees to the plane of the planets. It has an average diameter of 1,400 km and an average distance from the sun of 45 astronomical units. This is where you'll find it during July and August 2017, with a magnitude of +17.1.

Niku was only discovered last August. It has a very strange orbit, almost perpendicular to the plane of the planets, taking it from 24 to 47 astronomical units from the sun. It's the smallest of our three objects; somewhere between 70 and 200 km in diameter. This is where you'll find it in July and August, with a magnitude of +21.8. That's very faint so, if you find this one, we'll be very impressed!

Note that Niku is the object's unofficial nickname. Its formal name is "2011 KT19".

Remember to upload your images to our Flickr page - or drop us a line to [email protected] to let us know how you got on.