Bright star in Southern Sky

vicwatson

Hi,

I see a very large bright star not high above the horizon in the southern sky right now.

Any idea what it is?

TIA

markfla

probably Venus

Captain Chaos

Nothing in the South at all this evening, well I can't see any lower than the height of a house. However the bright star in the East to the right of the moon is Jupiter.

vicwatson

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Nothing in the South at all this evening, well I can't see any lower than the height of a house. However the bright star in the East to the right of the moon is Jupiter.

Yes it's definitely there in the south/south west - I think it might be venus, very bright

Edit - It's flamin well gone now !18.00 hours

job3

Probably Fomalhaut. Would be very low in the south

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formalhaut

zenno

can't see anything bright down there either. was just looking at the moon and jupiter with 10x50 binoc's it's a very crisp clear night for viewing i have to say. i forgot how good these binoculars are, haven't used them in months.

Popoutman

It's Venus, and it sets soon enough after the sun at the moment, but each day it gets a little farther up and east at the same time after sunset for a few months.

Mountainsandh

Hey OP, I noticed that star too this evening, it was so bright I thought of Jupiter (after reading on here about it) but it was South South West... and not a bit near that really obvious moon
I'm in South East.

Drake66

Venus was visible very low in the horizon in the south this evening.

Rubecula

Just a bit of info for the few who don't know. The four brightest objects that we see in the sky in descending order are:

The Sun (obviously)
The Moon (equally as obvious)
Venus (Our nearest neighbour apart from the moon)
Jupiter.

Binoculars can show the phases of Venus clearly ( a bit like phases of the moon but without the detail) Apparently these phases can be seen just by eyesight by some people, unfortunately I have never been able to see them by eye.

If you are not sure where you are looking it is always possible to mistake Venus for Jupiter and vice versa until you get the hang of it.

Get a pair of binoculars and start to check things out. If and when you get the bug go for a telescope. I am sure once you start to see the stars through Binoculars (try size 10 X 50) you will soon want to get a telescope and learn more.

Good luck with your observations Vicwatson.

Popoutman

If you have a steadily-held pair of binoculars, you should be able to see at least one and usually three of the Galilean moons of Jupiter strung out in a line through the planet itself. Venus doesn't have moons, so it's the easiest way to distinguish between the two.
When you compare the colours of Venus and Jupiter (in March they will be close together) you can see that Venus is a brilliant white, and Jupiter is a bright cream-like colour by comparison.

Kersh

Probably Venus. Though Jupiter is still well worth a look at. Every time I take the scope out the first I point at is Jupiter. Its class.

Mountainsandh

Rubecula wrote: »

Just a bit of info for the few who don't know. The four brightest objects that we see in the sky in descending order are:

The Sun (obviously)
The Moon (equally as obvious)
Venus (Our nearest neighbour apart from the moon)
Jupiter.

Binoculars can show the phases of Venus clearly ( a bit like phases of the moon but without the detail) Apparently these phases can be seen just by eyesight by some people, unfortunately I have never been able to see them by eye.

If you are not sure where you are looking it is always possible to mistake Venus for Jupiter and vice versa until you get the hang of it.

Get a pair of binoculars and start to check things out. If and when you get the bug go for a telescope. I am sure once you start to see the stars through Binoculars (try size 10 X 50) you will soon want to get a telescope and learn more.

Good luck with your observations Vicwatson.

Goddamit now I really want a pair of binoculars. :P NOW is not the time though ! Going to have to throw some massive hints in the next few days.

cocoshovel

Yup definitely Venus. A lovely sight to see, yet I very rarely get to see it.