Does anyone else see this dot next to the moon right now?

[MBrown]

What is that bright dot next to the moon?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Aliens. They've started their attack.


I don't see anything from my area. Its probably a satellite or something. Or you are just going crazy/blind.

 

[iamaelephant]

 

[Descartes]

It's Venus. Saturn is also visible, but not near as bright.

 

[IGBT]

..your floaters.

 

[MBrown]

Well if its venus its 10x brighter tonight that it is other nights. It has a halo around it.

 

[RallyMaster]

Yeah, I saw that yesterday night too. That certainly was a sight mmkoi...

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Well if its venus its 10x brighter tonight that it is other nights. It has a halo around it.

It's not brighter. The halo you're seeing is likely due to high cirrus clouds which create the effect. There are a lot of related phenomenon that create such halos, and they involve high-altitude clouds, ice crystals, etc.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Atmospheric magnifacation? Da little water gobs make the light look brighter.

 

[cKGunslinger]

It might be Uranus..

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
It might be Uranus..

what out for those nasty Klingons

 

[sniperruff]

its kim jong il's nuke

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: MBrown
Well if its venus its 10x brighter tonight that it is other nights. It has a halo around it.

It's not brighter. The halo you're seeing is likely due to high cirrus clouds which create the effect. There are a lot of related phenomenon that create such halos, and they involve high-altitude clouds, ice crystals, etc.

Yeah, its likely just local atmospheric stuff that is causing the halo.

I remember one night back in high school when my friends and I looked up and there was a massive halo around a full moon. It actually looked like there was a some huge circular object behind the moon, was pretty freaky (it seriously looked like the outline of a giant object about 20 times bigger than the moon). I had somehow soon forgotten about it and didn't remember it until sometime kinda recently when I found out what it was.

Looked sorta like this. That picture doesn't really do it justice (none of the ones I see with a quick google search do, they look more like lense flares). When I saw it I got hit with the overwhelming realization of just how small and insignificant I/we are. It was a disconcerting feeling.

 

[DrPizza]

The moon looked really cool the other night - even though it was just a crescent, the whole moon was visible; with a reddish color on the rest of it. (very dark at night here; I was just out a few minutes ago staring at all the stars.)

 

[myjaja]

It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

 

[puffff]

Originally posted by: myjaja
It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

This sounds like the winner

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: myjaja
It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

This sounds like the winner

Thats it :thumbsup:

 

[illusion88]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
It might be Uranus..

we should change the name to urectum

 

[jamautosound]

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: myjaja
It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

This sounds like the winner

Want to know when a spacecraft will be flying over your city?

Get exact times and days for viewing from your town. Pretty cool.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: MBrown
Well if its venus its 10x brighter tonight that it is other nights. It has a halo around it.

It's not brighter. The halo you're seeing is likely due to high cirrus clouds which create the effect. There are a lot of related phenomenon that create such halos, and they involve high-altitude clouds, ice crystals, etc.

Actually, technically speaking, halos would be caused by cirrostratus.

Cirrus generally just dims out the stars, no other effect.

/trained weather observer

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: myjaja
It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

This sounds like the winner

The bright dot next to the moon that I see is likely a planet, as it's not moving across the sky. If it were a local satellite, it'd move across the sky quite quickly.

"Traveling in their respective orbits at approximately 18,000 mph (29,000 kilometers per hour), both should be visible from about one to four minutes (depending on the particular viewing pass) as they glide with a steady speed across the sky."

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: puffff

Originally posted by: myjaja
It's suppose to be a flying kitty. lol j/k

It's a space shuttle. You can see it through a telescope.

This sounds like the winner

The bright dot next to the moon that I see is likely a planet, as it's not moving across the sky. If it were a local satellite, it'd move across the sky quite quickly.

"Traveling in their respective orbits at approximately 18,000 mph (29,000 kilometers per hour), both should be visible from about one to four minutes (depending on the particular viewing pass) as they glide with a steady speed across the sky."

you're right. the dot next to the moon is Venus. Don't know why anyone is arguing that. Both the moon and Venus appeared brighter than usual, and due to that, it was an amazing site.
news coverage

I stared at it for a few moments and thought to myself: two of the most important celestial bodies, sitting side by side, in a sky all to themselves (in that quadrant of the sky, nothing else was visible where I live). It's a nice thing to see.

later this year Mars will come into view too. We'll be treated to a Christmas Eve present, as on that night Mars will be the brightest it will ever get this year.

It'll be in view during the summer, just not sure how easy it will be to spot, and if it will require a telescope to see.

 

[dpert1]

haha, my friends and i debated this last night at a bondfire we had, my vote was mars, looks like venus won

 

[gwrober]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
its kim jong il's nuke

[Noticing Dr. Evil's spaceship on radar]
Radar Operator: Colonel, you better have a look at this radar.
Colonel: What is it, son?
Radar Operator: I don't know, sir, but it looks like a giant...
Jet Pilot: Dick. Dick, take a look out of starboard.
Co-Pilot: Oh my God, it looks like a huge...
Bird-Watching Woman: Pecker.
Bird-Watching Man: [raising binoculars] Ooh, Where?
Bird-Watching Woman: Over there. What sort of bird is that? Wait, it's not a woodpecker, it looks like someone's...
Army Sergeant: Privates. We have reports of an unidentified flying object. It has a long, smooth shaft, complete with...
Baseball Umpire: Two balls.
[looking up from game]
Baseball Umpire: What is that. It looks just like an enormous...
Chinese Teacher: Wang. pay attention.
Wang: I was distracted by that giant flying...
Musician: Willie.
Willie: Yeah?
Musician: What's that?
Willie: [squints] Well, that looks like a huge...
Colonel: Johnson.
Radar Operator: Yes, sir?
Colonel: Get on the horn to British Intelligence and let them know about this.