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What was it?

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  • 31-01-2015 10:43am
    #1
    antiskeptic
    Registered Users Posts: 9,555 ✭✭✭


    Hi there,

    Happened to be up early yesterday (5.30am) and noticed a very bright object in the western sky at about 40 degrees from horizontal. It was moving slowly (at an Earth rotation kind of speed rather than plane) and was steady-bright.

    Was it the space station or something else?

    Thanks


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    #2
    Beeker
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,643 Mod ✭✭✭✭Beeker


    Southwest at 0530 would have been the Planet Jupiter. The space station moves quickly across the sky taking just a few minutes to do so.


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    #3
    antiskeptic
    Registered Users Posts: 9,555 ✭✭✭antiskeptic


    Beeker wrote: »
    Southwest at 0530 would have been the Planet Jupiter. The space station moves quickly across the sky taking just a few minutes to do so.

    That figures so..

    "2and making it on average the third-brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus"

    No wonder my binoculars merely made the bright ball become a bouncing around bright ball but with no extra detail :o


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    #4
    mcgarrett
    Registered Users Posts: 376 ✭✭mcgarrett


    Curious to know what the bright light in the sky is fairly low as you look Northwest. It's by far the brightest object at the moment.

    Planet or star?


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    #5
    Knifey Spoony
    Registered Users Posts: 1,557 ✭✭✭Knifey Spoony


    More than likely it's Venus, the third brightest natural object in the sky.


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    #6
    greedygoblin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,649 ✭✭✭greedygoblin


    mcgarrett wrote: »
    Curious to know what the bright light in the sky is fairly low as you look Northwest. It's by far the brightest object at the moment.

    Planet or star?

    Too cloudy to check here, but around the time you posted both Mars and Venus were due West while Vega was in the North. All 3 very low in the sky at that time.


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    #7
    mcgarrett
    Registered Users Posts: 376 ✭✭mcgarrett


    Thanks for the replies.


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    #8
    Maximus Alexander
    Registered Users Posts: 13,080 ✭✭✭✭Maximus Alexander


    mcgarrett wrote: »
    Curious to know what the bright light in the sky is fairly low as you look Northwest. It's by far the brightest object at the moment.

    Planet or star?

    I would say Venus, which is very bright in the Western sky in the evenings at the moment between about 17:00 and 19:30. But it set at around 19:40 which was a good while before your post.

    Only thing that would have been bright in the Northwest at about half eight was Deneb as far as I can tell.

    Edit: Actually Venus set later than I thought. Probably Venus.


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    #9
    mcgarrett
    Registered Users Posts: 376 ✭✭mcgarrett


    Maximus Alexander wrote: »
    I would say Venus, which is very bright in the Western sky in the evenings at the moment between about 17:00 and 19:30. But it set at around 19:40 which was a good while before your post.

    Only thing that would have been bright in the Northwest at about half eight was Deneb as far as I can tell.

    Edit: Actually Venus set later than I thought. Probably Venus.

    Thanks Maximus, I was heading down the Naas dual carriageway around 7pm so Venus it is.


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