# What's that "star" I've been seeing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067 "2010-11-27T11:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/1 "2010-11-27T11:35:45Z")
When I go out to get my morning paper the last several days I’ve noticed a very bright object that is easily visible long after it’s too light to see any stars. It’s at about ESE and 20[sup]o[/sup] high. I’m in the D.C. area at about 38.91,-77.24. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/2 "2010-11-27T11:48:28Z")
That’s most probably Venus. The “female” symbol in this link represents Venus; and I’ve set the location of that map to be Washington DC. [http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon?lat=38.9000&ns=North&lon=77.017&ew=West&fov=45.000&azimuth=135.000&z=2&elements=](http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon?lat=38.9000&ns=North&lon=77.017&ew=West&fov=45.000&azimuth=135.000&z=2&elements=) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/3 "2010-11-27T12:49:57Z")
I believe Jupiter is [particularly bright](http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/bright-star-might-be-planet-jupiter-nearly-closest-since-1963) at the moment. When I saw a very bright object next to the moon the other night, I checked with my iPhone “pUniverse” app and it was Jupiter. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/4 "2010-11-27T16:22:55Z")
Definitely Venus. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/5 "2010-11-27T16:37:34Z")
I noticed this earlier this morning (I am in California, but we get our turn at essentially the same sky eventually), and seeing this post reminded me that that I had intended to check it out on my planetarium program. Yes, it is Venus. It seems to be unusually high in the sky and unusually bright at the moment. It is in its crescent phase, which means that although we only see a small part of the surface illuminated, it is relatively close to us in its orbit. (Jupiter was not even above the horizon at the relevant time.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/6 "2010-11-27T18:18:10Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > That’s most probably Venus. The “female” symbol in this link represents Venus; and I’ve set the location of that map to be Washington DC. > > [http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon?lat=38.9000&ns=North&lon=77.017&ew=West&fov=45.000&azimuth=135.000&z=2&elements=](http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon?lat=38.9000&ns=North&lon=77.017&ew=West&fov=45.000&azimuth=135.000&z=2&elements=) Venus it is. Stunningly bright. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/7 "2010-11-27T18:38:58Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Venus it is. Stunningly bright. Thanks! The difference in magnitude between Venus at its brightest and Jupiter at its brightest is 1.72, which, if I haven’t forgotten all my high-school astronomy, means that Venus is about 4.8 times as bright as Jupiter - which doesn’t make a lot of difference at night, but does mean you can see Venus much later in the morning. In fact, you can see Venus at its brightest in the middle of the day, if you know exactly where to look. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/8 "2010-11-27T18:56:31Z")
As a general rule: If you see something in the sky that’s like a star but really, really bright, and it’s within about 3 hours of sunrise or sunset, then it’s probably Venus. If you see something that’s really, really bright and it’s not within 3 hours of sunrise or sunset, then it’s Jupiter. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/9 "2010-11-27T19:06:31Z")
Will we be able to see mercury tonight? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/10 "2010-11-27T21:32:13Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I believe Jupiter is [particularly bright](http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/bright-star-might-be-planet-jupiter-nearly-closest-since-1963) at the moment. > > When I saw a very bright object next to the moon the other night, I checked with my iPhone “pUniverse” app and it was Jupiter. Jupiter is out in the nighttime, although you’d find it setting in the west just prior to sunrise. However, the OP is seeing Venus. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/11 "2010-11-27T21:34:49Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > The difference in magnitude between Venus at its brightest and Jupiter at its brightest is 1.72, which, if I haven’t forgotten all my high-school astronomy, means that Venus is about 4.8 times as bright as Jupiter - which doesn’t make a lot of difference at night, but does mean you can see Venus much later in the morning. In fact, you can see Venus at its brightest in the middle of the day, if you know exactly where to look. FYI: Each unit of apparent magnitude is 10x brighter than the previous. And, the scale of brightness increases as the value decreases. For example, an object with an apparent magnitude of -1 is 10x brighter than an object with an apparent magnitude of 0. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/12 "2010-11-27T22:28:01Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > FYI: Each unit of apparent magnitude is 10x brighter than the previous. And, the scale of brightness increases as the value decreases. For example, an object with an apparent magnitude of -1 is 10x brighter than an object with an apparent magnitude of 0. Exactly right, if by 10 you mean ~2.5 ([actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude) the 5th root of 100). ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/13 "2010-11-28T01:00:00Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Will we be able to see mercury tonight? Mercury is a real pain in the ass to see. It’s the last of the naked-eye planets I managed, and I had to climb up on the roof and look from when the sun set to do it. It’s bright, but it’s always so close to the sun that you are looking for a bright object in an almost as bright sky. Once I succeeded in seeing it, I stopped looking for it. I only saw it once, and I haven’t seen it in 30 or more years. If you _ **really** _ want to see it, you are going to need to do some serious research. Just asking on a message board “when should I look?” will probably _ **not** _ get you useful directions. But it might, so it can’t hurt to ask. I just did a quick Google search, and all I got as the top results are old articles telling you how to see it in “april of somethingty something” [“something” being defined as “a while ago, not now”]. No current results. If you _ **really** _ want to see it, get a subscription to the paper magazines “Astronomy” or “Sky and Telescope”. Follow along in their sections on what’s visible, until they tell you a good opportunity is coming up. That’s how I did it. Try their websites [find 'em yourself] if you want to do it for free. They may not give that info on their “free” websites. I get the paper, so I don’t pay much attention to the websites. If you want to see Mercury, you are going to have to work for it… Good luck, and happy hunting! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/14 "2010-11-28T01:18:39Z")
I have a star chart on my iPhone/iPad. According to that, it should be showing at sunset, but I’ve tried to find it from where I work (I work on the fifth floor), and I haven’t been able to see it. I’m not entirely certain what it would look like, since it is still pretty light. I’m not certain how far past sunset, I should look. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/15 "2010-11-28T02:28:22Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > If you _ **really** _ want to see it, get a subscription to the paper magazines “Astronomy” or “Sky and Telescope”. Follow along in their sections on what’s visible, until they tell you a good opportunity is coming up. That’s how I did it. Try their websites [find 'em yourself] if you want to do it for free. They may not give that info on their “free” websites. I get the paper, so I don’t pay much attention to the websites. If you want to see Mercury, you are going to have to work for it… Good luck, and happy hunting! The _Sky and Telescope_ website is free and has [This Week’s Sky At a Glance](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/), updated every Friday. Further down on that page is _This Week’s Planet Roundup_. The tricky part is knowing when to look. After that, knowing exactly where to look is important. The URL I gave will have both. Finally, clear sky, clear horizon, and sometimes binoculars. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/16 "2010-11-28T06:34:54Z")
If it’s moving quickly then it’s the space station. You can use [this site](http://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=25544&tz=GMT-04:00) to predict its visible path and time of day it passes by. Monday the 28th it will be visible on the east coast between 7:12 AM and 7:17AM. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/17 "2010-11-28T06:47:23Z")
Just to add a bit for sky watchers, if you have any kind of Android phone, then [Google Sky Map](http://www.google.com/mobile/skymap/) is the best thing ever ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/18 "2010-11-28T08:53:49Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > FYI: Each unit of apparent magnitude is 10x brighter than the previous. And, the scale of brightness increases as the value decreases. For example, an object with an apparent magnitude of -1 is 10x brighter than an object with an apparent magnitude of 0. I’d taken that into account; I was looking at the absolute value of the difference between the two (Venus = -4.67, Jupiter = -2.95) to give me the relative brightness of the two objects. Are you possibly confusing the apparent magnitude scale with the decibel scale, or the Richter scale? As \*\*Malacandra \*\*noted, the each unit difference in apparent magnitude is equal to a difference in brightness of the 5th root of 100, or 2.51ish. > [@Baron Greenback](#): > > Just to add a bit for sky watchers, if you have any kind of Android phone, then Google Sky Map is the best thing ever Google Sky Map is beautiful. No question. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-star-ive-been-seeing/562067/19 "2010-11-28T09:22:50Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > I just did a quick Google search, and all I got as the top results are old articles telling you how to see it in “april of somethingty something” [“something” being defined as “a while ago, not now”]. No current results. [January 9/10, 2011](http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Sky%20this%20Month/2010/11/Mercury%20and%20Venus%20peak.aspx)