# What's that bright star, right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931 "2017-01-12T02:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/1 "2017-01-12T02:32:43Z")
It’s 18:30 PST here. There is a bright star/planet/something in the sky. It’s directly west, or a little north of west, and seems to be (estimating) about 30º elevation. Higher, and to the left, about the 10:30 position, is a small reddish ‘star’. If I hold my hand out as if signalling ‘Stop’, the two objects are about a hand’s width apart, from the tip of my pinky to the lowest joint of my left index finger. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/2 "2017-01-12T02:36:26Z")
I didn’t even look, but I’m 99% sure the answer is Venus. ETA: [Yup.](http://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-hits-milestone-on-january-12) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/3 "2017-01-12T02:38:39Z")
Oh, and the reddish body above and to the left of Venus is Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/4 "2017-01-12T02:40:32Z")
Decent photo if you scroll down [here.](http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/5 "2017-01-12T02:41:02Z")
Thanks, **Kimstu** [It looks like you’re right](http://www.space.com/33619-visible-planets-guide.html). I assumed the reddish ‘star’ was Mars. > [@](#): > > **Venus:** As seen from latitude 40 degrees north, this dazzling planet’s altitude a half hour after sunset increases from 30 to 36 degrees between New Year’s Day and month’s end. Venus is stunning throughout January as the planet brightens from magnitude minus 4.3 to minus 4.6, remaining up for almost 4 hours after sunset. I did look up Venus, but the site I found talked about it being visible in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/6 "2017-01-12T03:52:14Z")
It might not be a current cite. Venus is always either a morning star or an evening star, but it changes every year or two. And **Kimstu** , 99% is perhaps a bit overconfident. At least 5-10% of the time, the answer is actually Jupiter. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/7 "2017-01-12T04:13:01Z")
Quick rule of thumb, stars twinkle, planets don’t. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/8 "2017-01-12T04:25:03Z")
If you have a smart phone, you might want to look into an app like SkyView for help identifying things in the night sky. It’s pretty amazing stuff. You just point your camera towards the sky, as if you’re taking a picture, and it overlays the position of the stars based on your GPS and phone’s accelerometer info. Super cool–I wish we had something like this when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/9 "2017-01-12T04:41:24Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Oh, and the reddish body above and to the left of Venus is Mars. They’re alright tonight. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/10 "2017-01-12T16:30:39Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Quick rule of thumb, stars twinkle, planets don’t. Saw Sirius rising over the ocean last night, wind moderate, and it was scintillating like mad. Looked utterly awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/11 "2017-01-12T17:05:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Thanks, **Kimstu** [It looks like you’re right](http://www.space.com/33619-visible-planets-guide.html). I assumed the reddish ‘star’ was Mars. > I did look up Venus, but the site I found talked about it being visible in the morning. If there wasn’t a foot of snow on my deck, I’d be out there with my scope. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/12 "2017-01-12T17:25:52Z")
[Venus was at its peak brilliance last night. You probably assume you saw something up in the sky other than Venus. But I assure you, it _was_ Venus.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYyUFb2wCQ&feature=youtu.be&t=21) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/13 "2017-01-12T17:29:08Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Quick rule of thumb, stars twinkle, planets don’t. You don’t live in L.A., I take it? Everything twinkles, including some stars. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/14 "2017-01-12T18:41:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you have a smart phone, you might want to look into an app like SkyView for help identifying things in the night sky. It’s pretty amazing stuff. You just point your camera towards the sky, as if you’re taking a picture, and it overlays the position of the stars based on your GPS and phone’s accelerometer info. Super cool–I wish we had something like this when I was a kid. That sounds awesome. I’ll have to look into it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/15 "2017-01-12T22:17:00Z")
I’ll second Skyview. I’ve used it all over the northern hemisphere and it has never failed me. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/16 "2017-01-12T23:09:24Z")
Even I knew it was Venus. I saw it myself, there were only two things I could see in the sky (climate here is so humid and foggy and my property so infested with redwood trees that I rarely see much in the way of stars), the moon and this super-bright star, upon which I said to myself, that really has to be Venus. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/17 "2017-01-13T02:00:39Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > [Venus was at its peak brilliance last night. You probably assume you saw something up in the sky other than Venus. But I assure you, it _was_ Venus.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYyUFb2wCQ&feature=youtu.be&t=21) Nitpick: it was at it’s greatest _separation_ from the sun (disc half-lit)-greatest brilliance will be on the 18th of February. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/18 "2017-01-13T02:05:06Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > [Venus was at its peak brilliance last night. You probably assume you saw something up in the sky other than Venus. But I assure you, it _was_ Venus.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYyUFb2wCQ&feature=youtu.be&t=21) Oh goddammit, I came in to post that :mad: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/19 "2017-01-13T02:50:28Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > You don’t live in L.A., I take it? Everything twinkles, including some stars. Heck, I’ve seen the _full moon_ twinkle from Yosemite Valley. (Full disclosure: non-trivial quantities of tequila may have been involved.) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931/20 "2017-01-13T19:40:57Z")
Stars twinkle not because they radiate energy (planets reflect light) but the amount of space the light from them travels causes disturbances. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bright-star-right-now/776931.md?page=2)