Question for you sky watchers

[This Guy]

OK, I put UFO in the tags, only because I haven't identified what I saw. Not because I suspect it's controlled by little green men ;)

Last night I was out back, and looked up at the night sky. There was a very bright object up there. It was between West and South West, nearer to being West.

Later it (or something about as bright) appeared to be more toward the south.

Both times (a few hours apart) I watched the object for several minutes, and could not detect any apparent motion. I live near a big airport, so I see a lot of planes and such, but while this was as bright as an approaching airplane's lights might be, I believe I watched it long enough that it should have changed it's direction from me, or changed size if heading toward me. I noticed no change.

I tried checking some web sites, using Google, but really didn't find anything that helped me narrow it down. My thought is that it might be Venus or one of the planets.

Anyone know what I might have seen? I live in Middle Tennessee/About 36°N Lat./86°W Lon.

[Buckaroo]

It was probably the ISS. I watched it last night between 9:11 and 9:14 ET. Like you say, it started WSW -- but it moved towards the NE pretty quickly. I live in D.C., and it was very bright, reaching a peak mag of -.3. Maybe you saw something later and just assumed it was the same thing? Or I could be completely wrong... :)

[This Guy]

It was probably the ISS. I watched it last night between 9:11 and 9:14 ET. Like you say, it started WSW -- but it moved towards the NE pretty quickly. I live in D.C., and it was very bright, reaching a peak mag of -.3. Maybe you saw something later and just assumed it was the same thing? Or I could be completely wrong... :)

That might be it. It is certainly possible that the two sightings were different objects.

I think it's safe to assume at lest one (if not both) were the ISS. My directions could be off a bit also. I was using Map quest to determine the directions, and I could easily have screwed up.

Thanks for the input! I've never knowing spotted the ISS, though I have read that it is visible when overhead. :)

[Molinaro]

I don't think it could have been the ISS. It goes from horizon to horizon in about 10 minutes if you spot it rising. It's apparent motion is very obvious accross the sky.

[Buckaroo]

If you're interested in watching man-made objects in orbit, have a look at www.heavens-above.com. It's got a schedule for all the good ones, based on your location.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Jupiter?

http://www.nightskyinfo.com/

[This Guy]

I don't think it could have been the ISS. It goes from horizon to horizon in about 10 minutes if you spot it rising. It's apparent motion is very obvious accross the sky.

Hmmmm...

Wish I had recorded the times I saw whatever I saw. It was while I was outside soothing my nicotine cravings, and I know the sightings were at least two or three hours apart, because that's about how often I smoke when I'm diddling about (it's longer when I'm actually "doing" something).

I believe the first sighting was around 2130-2200. The second, I believe was around 0200 this AM. Though it is possible the first sighting was earlier. I went to the store around the 2200 time, and it may have been before that, possibly around 2000 or so, which would be in the ball park of Buckaroo's sighting of the ISS. Buckaroo is in the Eastern time zone, I'm central.

It's really not important of course, I'm just curious as to what it was. Next time something like this happens, I'll try to take notes. When I saw the first "thing" I thought it must be one of the planets or something. It was certainly far brighter than any of the stars I could see. I just shrugged it off at the time. Then when I saw something very similar, but what appeared to be further to the south, I started wondering about it.

Would it be possible that the ISS could have been visible two times during the night, from my area?

Perhaps that is what it was, and my perception of how long I watched is off. It takes me about two minutes to finish off a smoke. But I couldn't swear to how long I had been out at either time before I noticed whatever I saw.

But, I wasn't drinking, and there was SOMETHING up there, and it was bright :)

[This Guy]

If you're interested in watching man-made objects in orbit, have a look at www.heavens-above.com. It's got a schedule for all the good ones, based on your location.

I'm mildly interested. I've actually considered buying a good set of binoculars mostly just to have something handy to look at the more visible objects (and watch my neighbors undress;)).

Thanks for the link!

[This Guy]

Jupiter?

http://www.nightskyinfo.com/

Could be! But the more I read the more confused I'm getting ;)

Nice link! Thanks :)

[Buckaroo]

I'm mildly interested. I've actually considered buying a good set of binoculars mostly just to have something handy to look at the more visible objects (and watch my neighbors undress;)).

Thanks for the link!


No problem! After reading Gord's hypothesis, I'm now leaning towards Saturn (I don't think Jupiter was in the area) being the culprit, which occupied pretty much the same patch of sky as the ISS when it began its transit. I doubt you would have seen the ISS twice, because as Molinaro says, it really books across the sky, and is easily mistaken for a plane, if you don't know what you're looking at.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Definitely not the ISS--you can easily see it moving, and it would move to the east.

What time was it? Jupiter is a very late night object right now--not in the west until the wee hours of the morning. If it was earlier in the evening, Venus is amazingly bright in the west/southwest sky these days. Saturn is near (will be very close to Venus next month), but is much smaller, much dimmer and visibly orange--Venus looks bright white.

Edit: sorry, I missed that you gave the time in a subsequent post. I'm quite sure you saw Venus. Watch again tonight, and you'll see for sure. If you can visualize the ecliptic, go a little west from bright Venus and you'll see a small orange "star" which is Saturn. Way over in the east, you'll see bright yellow/white Jupiter.

Edit: I'm in St. Louis, so what I see is very similar to what you'll see in Tenn.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Actually, the Venus-Saturn conjunction is sooner than I was thinking. On June 30th, they will be 0.7 degrees apart, which is as close as they'll get this time.

[kellyb]

My guess would be Venus. It's freakishly big sometimes.

[This Guy]

For Buckaroo, and JoeTheJuggler,

The times between sightings could possibly allow for two different planets. The first sighting could have been around 2000/8:00 PM Central, and the last around 0200/2:00 AM Central. That's a possible 6 hour span, and is ball park. Could have been a bit more or less.

I'll try to check tonight, and see what I see. I'll take notes, and try to be more sure about the directions. I'm guessing if it was planets they should show up in about the same areas at about the same times tonight. That sound correct?

Thanks to all for the input. I feel kinda bad taking your time on such a silly thing. Again, it's not important, but I am curious. :)

ETA: Response to Joe's edit :)

Cool. Thanks.

[Wolverine]

I believe the first sighting was around 2130-2200.

In the west, that's definitely Venus. It's the second-brightest object in the night sky (behind the the Moon).

The second, I believe was around 0200 this AM.

That'd be Jupiter. It's the next-brightest visible planet behind Venus.

Would it be possible that the ISS could have been visible two times during the night, from my area?

Perhaps that is what it was, and my perception of how long I watched is off. It takes me about two minutes to finish off a smoke.

Bear in mind the ISS is orbiting the Earth at some 18,000 mph. In the space of even two minutes you'd see it noticeably moving in the sky (http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.asp?satid=25544&lat=36.166&lng=-86.784&loc=Nashville&alt=0&tz=CST) in relation to other objects.

Here's a guide (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance) to what's going on this week (scroll down to the Planet Roundup); here's another (http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/) highlighting June objects.

You can also use this interactive sky chart (http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/) -- that'll help you get a handle on what you're seeing.

[Wolverine]

I'll try to check tonight, and see what I see. I'll take notes, and try to be more sure about the directions. I'm guessing if it was planets they should show up in about the same areas at about the same times tonight. That sound correct?

Yep. :)

[Foster Zygote]

I live near a big airport...

I'm guessing that you may have been watching aircraft on approach to the large airport near your location. If they are on approach to a runway near you it might look (for a few minutes at least) like it is relatively motionless. But planets are a probable explanation too.

[This Guy]

I'm guessing that you may have been watching aircraft on approach to the large airport near your location. If they are on approach to a runway near you it might look (for a few minutes at least) like it is relatively motionless. But planets are a probable explanation too.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't a plane. It's possible I could be wrong, but I've seen many planes come in, and I'm pretty sure that's not what I saw last night :)

[JoeTheJuggler]

Sounds about right--Venus early and Jupiter 6 hours later. They're both bright and more or less white.

[TX50]

I ran it through my desktop planetarium. The first one was Venus (or possibly
Mercury or Saturn. All were in the sky at that time but Venus was by far the
brightest) and the second was Jupiter.

Standing at 36°N Lat./86°W Lon. looking West at 21:00hrs (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/whisky01/Screenshots/Venus1.jpg)

Standing at 36°N Lat./86°W Lon. looking South at 02:00hrs (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/whisky01/Screenshots/Jupiter1.jpg)

[This Guy]

I ran it through my desktop planetarium. The first one was Venus (or possibly
Mercury or Saturn. All were in the sky at that time but Venus was by far the
brightest) and the second was Jupiter.

Standing at 36°N Lat./86°W Lon. looking West at 21:00hrs (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/whisky01/Screenshots/Venus1.jpg)

Standing at 36°N Lat./86°W Lon. looking South at 02:00hrs (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/whisky01/Screenshots/Jupiter1.jpg)

How'd you do that? I like it :)

That looks about right also.

What program you using?

And thanks :)

[Soapy Sam]

A very useful little free astronomy program.

http://www.m31.spb.ru/StarCalc/main.htm

[Wolverine]

Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/) is quite a decent little freebie as well.

[This Guy]

A very useful little free astronomy program.

http://www.m31.spb.ru/StarCalc/main.htm

Thanks for the quick reply!

I've downloaded the main program. For things visable to the naked eye, do I need any of those other programs? The link, I believe is a Russian site? Anyway, I think this means I don't need anything but the main program -

"With minimal configuration, version 5.72 of StarCalc includes the next interfaces: "Horizon", "Horizontal coordinategrid", "Equatorial coordinate grid", "Constellation boundaries", "Constellation lines", "Constellation names", "Star proper names", "Bright Star Catalog", "Deep-sky objects", "Sun", "Moon" and "Planets and satellites". "

Is that correct? Or do I need those files listed below the main program?

Sorry to be a pain.

ETA: I'm gonna actually read the readme file, and play around with it a bit. I'll prolly nuke it out, and remember it longer ;)

[This Guy]

Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/) is quite a decent little freebie as well.

I was actually able to figure this one out. Of course it's a lot bigger than the one Soapy Sam linked (30+ meg versus less than a meg :)). So they had more programing to make up for idiots like me trying to use it ;)

Thanks to both of you, and the other posters.

Getting near sunset now, I'm looking forward to looking up there, and seeing SOMETHING! :)

ETA: OK, near sunset is relative. Still a while to go, but a lot closer than when I made the OP ;)

And I've been playing with Stellarium. I believe it was Venus, and then Jupiter that I saw. Just as TX50 figured out earlier.

Once again the JREFers come through. Thanks again to you all!

[This Guy]

Well, the first bright thingy I saw appears to be back. It looks a bit more north than last night, but it's still about where I saw it. It may also be a bit lower on the horizon than last night.

Based on what the Stellarium program shows, it should be Venus. I can't seem to get the exact location set, but it's within a degree in both Lat and Lon, so I'm sure it's pretty close.

I'll post if/when I see the other thingy. If it's Jupiter, as suspected, it should be on the SE horizon from me. Unfortunately, I'd have to do some heavy landscaping to see that from here (I'm gonna head out for some errands shortly, and will watch for a better vantage point ;)).

I can't thank you ALL enough for your input on this!

I feel like a kid with a new toy :D

You'd think at 52 I'd be over such things ;)

[Foster Zygote]

I was actually able to figure this one out. Of course it's a lot bigger than the one Soapy Sam linked (30+ meg versus less than a meg :)). So they had more programing to make up for idiots like me trying to use it ;)

Thanks to both of you, and the other posters.

Getting near sunset now, I'm looking forward to looking up there, and seeing SOMETHING! :)

ETA: OK, near sunset is relative. Still a while to go, but a lot closer than when I made the OP ;)

And I've been playing with Stellarium. I believe it was Venus, and then Jupiter that I saw. Just as TX50 figured out earlier.

Once again the JREFers come through. Thanks again to you all!

If you do get a good set of binoculars you'll be surprised what you can see. Venus can look quite beautiful and you can usually see the four large moons of Jupiter. You might even be able to make out the rings of Saturn and Pleiades star cluster looks really cool. If you can get away from light pollution you can see quite a bit.

[This Guy]

If you do get a good set of binoculars you'll be surprised what you can see. Venus can look quite beautiful and you can usually see the four large moons of Jupiter. You might even be able to make out the rings of Saturn and Pleiades star cluster looks really cool. If you can get away from light pollution you can see quite a bit.

Sounds pretty cool!

I've actually debated getting a telescope. I'd like to have one, but it's hard to justify the cost of a decent one, and I'm sure if I got a cheapo I'd soon be disappointed and start looking for a better replacement. I figure I can use the bonocs for better than naked eye sky viewing, and also for bird watching and such. I moved not long ago, and where I'm at is teaming with birds. I've seen some I've never seen in the wild before. I've seen at least one hummingbird each day for the last several days, in the back yard. I don't recall ever seeing one out doors before. But, I digress ;)

Thanks for the info :)

[TX50]

How'd you do that? I like it :)

That looks about right also.

What program you using?

And thanks :)

I used "Starry Night Pro" which I bought several years ago.

As well as the free planetarium softwares that the others have
linked you to there is also "Celestia", which is open source and
is quite popular:

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

[This Guy]

I used "Starry Night Pro" which I bought several years ago.

As well as the free planetarium softwares that the others have
linked you to there is also "Celestia", which is open source and
is quite popular:

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

Starry Night I've actually heard of! :)

Stellarium seems pretty good for my needs. Not sure if I can get it to show man made objects or not though. Too tired to fiddle with it now, but I'll look into that later.

Thanks :)

[This Guy]

OK, last update. Checked a few minutes ago, and Jupiter is on it's way to the spot I saw it at last night. Not gonna wait up any longer cause it's been a long day and I'm tired. But I'm convinced that what I saw last night was Venus and Jupiter.

I've probably seen them many times, and never realized it. It's cool to actually have a name for some of those bright things out there, besides the Sun and the Moon ;)

Thanks again all! It's been a very informative day for me, and I owe it all to you folks :)