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What's this beside the moon tonight?

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  • 29-12-2019 8:35pm
    #1
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭


    Took this photo tonight, would love to know what the celestial body is 'opposite' the moon.


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    #2
    CosmicFool
    Registered Users Posts: 492 ✭✭CosmicFool


    r3nu4l wrote: »
    Took this photo tonight, would love to know what the celestial body is 'opposite' the moon.


    Would it be Venus?always the first to show at night.


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    #3
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭r3nu4l


    CosmicFool wrote: »
    Would it be Venus?always the first to show at night.

    That's what I was thinking but what I know about astronomy could be written on a quark! :)


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    #4
    Wailin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,407 ✭✭✭Wailin


    It's Venus alright lads. I'd recommend you download an app called stellarium on google play. Absolutely brilliant. Shows you the night sky in your area and any particular time. Best thing is it's free.


    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noctuasoftware.stellarium


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    #5
    This is it
    Registered Users Posts: 5,237 ✭✭✭This is it


    Wailin wrote: »
    It's Venus alright lads. I'd recommend you download an app called stellarium on google play. Absolutely brilliant. Shows you the night sky in your area and any particular time. Best thing is it's free.


    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noctuasoftware.stellarium

    That link shows €2.99


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    #6
    r3nu4l
    Registered Users Posts: 17,399 ✭✭✭✭r3nu4l


    Wailin wrote: »
    It's Venus alright lads. I'd recommend you download an app called stellarium on google play. Absolutely brilliant. Shows you the night sky in your area and any particular time. Best thing is it's free.


    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noctuasoftware.stellarium

    Thank you for confirming and thanks too for the app recommendation. This will really help! :)


    EDIT: Search for Stellarium Mobile Free to find the free version :)


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    #7
    Wailin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,407 ✭✭✭Wailin


    This is it wrote: »
    That link shows €2.99

    Ah, I have it downloaded and they must have began charging for it more recently. It's well worth the €2.99 in my opinion. Try the free version anyway, I'm not sure of the differences in both.


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    #8
    oriel36
    Registered Users Posts: 462 ✭✭oriel36


    r3nu4l wrote: »
    Took this photo tonight, would love to know what the celestial body is 'opposite' the moon.

    It is the Star and Crescent representing Venus and the moon

    https://cdn.edarabia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/turkey-flag.jpg


    It also helps you understand that the moon's orbital motion follows the Earth's orbital plane rather than its daily rotational plane -

    https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c8bc27a324e39de1ee25a045c8331719.webp


    Venus and the Earth roughly share the same orbital (ecliptic) plane so every now and again the moon comes into close proximity with Venus, in this case Venus is beginning to turn in between the central Sun and the slower moving Earth -

    https://www.theplanetstoday.com/


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    #9
    US2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,651 ✭✭✭US2


    I thought that was Saturn and Venus is the one we see just before sunrise. Should I tell my 5 year old everything I told him yesterday was wrong.


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    #10
    oriel36
    Registered Users Posts: 462 ✭✭oriel36


    US2 wrote: »
    I thought that was Saturn and Venus is the one we see just before sunrise. Should I tell my 5 year old everything I told him yesterday was wrong.

    A rule of thumb is that, as seen from a slower moving Earth, when Venus is seen to the left side of the Sun it is an evening appearance and when to the right side of the Sun it is a morning appearance -

    https://www.popastro.com/images/planetary/observations/Venus-July%202010-January%202012.jpg

    https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

    You can see why the moon and Venus appeared close yesterday using the relationship between the moon's position to the Earth and the position of Venus to the central Sun.

    Happy New Year to genuine astronomers and the wonderful visual pursuit that it is.


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