Venus?

ODubhain82

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if its Venus I'm seeing just above the horizon shortly about 18:00 for the last few evenings?

refusetolose

which direction?

greedygoblin

If it is to the South, then it sure is Venus. And if you look to the left of it and a little higher up, you might spot a dimmer-looking "star" with a reddish hue. That's Mars.

ODubhain82

Cool! Looking probably south west ish.
Figured Venus by the colour (pale white/cream) and sort of undefined looking.
Viewing with a 70x spotter scope.
Will have a look for Mars. Is it easily distinguishable from a star?

greedygoblin

ODubhain82 wrote: »

Will have a look for Mars. Is it easily distinguishable from a star?

It is yeah. After Venus, it's probably the next brightest object in that region of the sky. Can't see either of them tonight where I am because of cloud.

ODubhain82

greedygoblin wrote: »

It is yeah. After Venus, it's probably the next brightest object in that region of the sky. Can't see either of them tonight where I am because of cloud.

Very clear sky here in Ballinasloe area.
Bloody cold though!
Had a look at Mars there. I think its my first time to see it.
Need better gear. Tripod too wobbly.

greedygoblin

ODubhain82 wrote: »

Very clear sky here in Ballinasloe area.
Bloody cold though!
Had a look at Mars there. I think its my first time to see it.
Need better gear. Tripod too wobbly.

Sometimes all you need is just the naked eye. Although a few years ago i managed to spot the comet ISON with a pair of binos.

You should be able to catch Jupiter in the SE too before sunrise. Saturn and Mercury are a bit too close to the Sun to see at the moment though.

CianRyan

ODubhain82 wrote: »

Very clear sky here in Ballinasloe area.
Bloody cold though!
Had a look at Mars there. I think its my first time to see it.
Need better gear. Tripod too wobbly.

Find a length of string and something heavy (a kettle bell for example) and tie the weight from the centre of the tripod, that will help keep it much steadier. An old Photography trick.

josip

ODubhain82 wrote: »

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if its Venus I'm seeing just above the horizon shortly about 18:00 for the last few evenings?

I find the "Sky Map" app, originally from Google, great for this.

ODubhain82

josip wrote: »

I find the "Sky Map" app, originally from Google, great for this.

Cool. I have droid view on my phone but have never really trusted it.

Tropheus

Are you talking about the bright object visible in the sky to the south? I'm based in North Dublin and have seen it several times. It's lowish in the sky and very bright. Too bright to be a star. Was wondering what it was.

greedygoblin

Tropheus wrote: »

Are you talking about the bright object visible in the sky to the south? I'm based in North Dublin and have seen it several times. It's lowish in the sky and very bright. Too bright to be a star. Was wondering what it was.

Yep.

josip

Tropheus wrote: »

Are you talking about the bright object visible in the sky to the south? I'm based in North Dublin and have seen it several times. It's lowish in the sky and very bright. Too bright to be a star. Was wondering what it was.

Does it move during the night?
Yes? => Venus
No? => Top of the Spire

Tropheus

Not going out there tonight to see if it moved

It was too high in the sky to be the spire. I was in swords when I saw it at ground level. No way you can see the top of the spire from Swords.

ODubhain82

Venus is super bright right now from midlands.