What am I seeing at night?

robocode

Ambiguous title I know! I'm living in the south-east and at night (~8 pm) I see a really bright looking star to the north-northwest, it's not that high in the sky. Apologies for the amateur description but it's the best I can think of. Any ideas?

Knifey Spoony

It's not a star at all, but Jupiter.

robocode

Fascinating! Thanks for solving that one for me!

MeteoritesEire

with even a modest pair of binoculars, my little €30 pair is enough, you can see 4 of Jupiters moons

Dharnam

Hi im in the south east too. This is a great time for observing Jupiter.

EoghanIRL

Also in South East. Do you need any specific binoculars . I have a telescope but I'm not great at locating . I've seen all the craters on the moon and stuff but that's about it :P

MeteoritesEire

I have these 10 x 42 Tasco http://amzn.to/IgQmnB though I think I picked up a used pair a couple years ago on ebay

ThunderCat

EoghanIRL wrote: »

Also in South East. Do you need any specific binoculars . I have a telescope but I'm not great at locating . I've seen all the craters on the moon and stuff but that's about it :P

I'd imagine any binoculars 8x magnification and up will allow you to view Jupiter and it's gallileian moons. It would be easier for you to see the moons if you could mount the binoculars because when they are steady more detail will become apparent. If you don't already have bincoulars then a cheap pair of 8x40 or 10x50 will allow you to scan the sky and pick out things far easier than a telescope because of the wider field of view that binoculars have. Indeed certain things such as the Pliedies, Orions Belt, Hyadies are actually better viewed through binoculars and even the galaxy Andromeda is visible if you know where to look and under the right conditions.
If you are purchasing binoculars and have a small budget then opt for porro prism bincoulars rather than roof prism because at entry level, you get more for your money with the porros.
One last thing, download Google Sky or Stellarium as they will detail for you exactly what you are looking at in the sky although you can't miss Jupiter at the moment because it is the brightest thing in the eastern sky these evenings other than the moon. But dont expect to see Jupiter in any detail with binouclars, you need far more magnification and arpeture for that, which only comes with telescopes. But you will see Jupiters moons and it is indeed an impressive sight, even in a cheap set of binoculars.

Woodville56

ThunderCat wrote: »

One last thing, download Google Sky or Stellarium as they will detail for you exactly what you are looking at in the sky although you can't miss Jupiter at the moment because it is the brightest thing in the eastern sky these evenings other than the moon. But dont expect to see Jupiter in any detail with binouclars, you need far more magnification and arpeture for that, which only comes with telescopes. But you will see Jupiters moons and it is indeed an impressive sight, even in a cheap set of binoculars.

In the north midlands here, lovely crisp and clear (but freezing!) night. Located Jupiter and its moons quite easily, got decent views with 8x40 binoculars, quite spectacular ! Also have Stellarium on the iPhone, cool app !!

BurnsCarpenter

Around 6 or 7 for the last week or so, there's a very bright object towards the North East. The brightest 'star' in the sky at that time. I tried to use an app to identify but wasn't sure. Can anybody help me?

ThunderCat

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

Around 6 or 7 for the last week or so, there's a very bright object towards the North East. The brightest 'star' in the sky at that time. I tried to use an app to identify but wasn't sure. Can anybody help me?

My guess would be Capella but not certain. How high in the sky is it at that time of the evening? I wouldn't describe Capella as "very bright" though. Perhaps Jupiter but im not certain of it's rise and set times at the mo.

Edit: Think Capella is about 5th brightest star in the sky so it would actually appear very bright compared to those around it if Jupiter hasn't already risen at that time.

BurnsCarpenter

ThunderCat wrote: »

My guess would be Capella but not certain. How high in the sky is it at that time of the evening? I wouldn't describe Capella as "very bright" though. Perhaps Jupiter but im not certain of it's rise and set times at the mo.

Maybe 30-40 degrees off the horizon. Possibly Jupiter as well, it's definitely more North-East but maybe it moves towards the West around that time...