# South east star

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 28, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514 "2019-12-28T16:39:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nanancyy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nanancyy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nanancyy)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514/1 "2019-12-28T16:39:45Z")

</div>

I live in New Jersey. For a few months or so, I have noticed a star from the south east. It’s brighter than the North Star ever was. What is it? Was it always there?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514/2 "2019-12-28T17:00:02Z")

</div>

Mess around with this, it’s very intuitive. Unclick the “live” button then you can change to any date & time.

> **[Which Planets Can You See Tonight?](https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/usa/trenton)**
>
> Choose tonight or another date and see which planets are shining in the sky above you or anywhere else.

The answer is undoubtedly Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which currently rises ESE around 7:30pm and is low in the sky due SE around 9pm. By early morning it’s in the SW.

The view changes gradually during the seasons because of the fact that the earth is orbiting around the sun, but we come back to the same view in the same month next year. Three months ago Sirius would have been below the horizon in the early part of the night, but visible in the SE in the early morning.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514/3 "2019-12-28T17:03:32Z")

</div>

A _star_ or Venus or something (aka the Morning/Evening Star)? Is it on the ecliptic?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514/4 "2019-12-28T19:27:50Z")

</div>

In the south-west, for an hour or so after sunset is Venus. Can’t miss it - really, really bright.

South-east would be Sirius, as Riemann said.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-east-star/845514/5 "2019-12-29T02:36:16Z")

</div>

And BTW, the North Star is not especially bright; lots of stars are brighter.