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The moon is out tonight. What is that bright star like object near it?

R

Rowboat

Senior member
Can anyone tell me what it is? Google turns up a number of responses related to mars or Jupiter but wouldn't those be rare occurrences?

This spec almost looks like its orbiting the moon.

Thanks
 
Originally posted by: Rowboat
Can anyone tell me what it is? Google turns up a number of responses related to mars or Jupiter but wouldn't those be rare occurrences?

This spec almost looks like its orbiting the moon.

Thanks
Click to expand...

mars and jupiter are planets. theyre big. and relatively nearby compared to most stars. iirc the term planets comes from things like....jupiter and mars being easily seen moving across the sky at night. 😉

i think youre seeing jupiter. might be saturn. its been a long time since i had a telescope out and looked at anything. download stellarium and set up a time and location similar to your own and find out what it is. shouldnt take long.
 
Originally posted by: finite automaton
It's probably Jupiter... It's within 2 degrees of the moon today.
Click to expand...

yep, its Jupiter. in a week or so after the moon is not so near to it in the sky, try viewing with a good pair of binocs... you should be able to see a couple of its moons.

 
Right now, it's Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are getting closer together throughout this month though & will appear about 2 degrees apart on the 30th.
 
There are no bright objects near the moon all the time, the moon moves around the sky more than anything else. Jupiter and Venus have provided me with a beautiful Spring early evening sky for the past couple of weeks :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Right now, it's Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are getting closer together throughout this month though & will appear about 2 degrees apart on the 30th.
Click to expand...

I was going to guess Venus, but Jupiter it is. Awesome planet to see through a telescope, given that its rings don't require a huge aperture to view (not as visible as Saturn's, obviously), and as another poster mentioned, you should be able to catch a few of its moons as well.
 
Originally posted by: Whisper
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Right now, it's Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are getting closer together throughout this month though & will appear about 2 degrees apart on the 30th.
Click to expand...

I was going to guess Venus, but Jupiter it is. Awesome planet to see through a telescope, given that its rings don't require a huge aperture to view (not as visible as Saturn's, obviously), and as another poster mentioned, you should be able to catch a few of its moons as well.
Click to expand...

You must be using one hell of a telescope if you think you've seen Jupiter's rings. Something on the order of the Keck or Gran Telescopio Canarias. They are certainly not visible through your average backyard telescope. What you may have seen are the moons of Jupiter, which are certainly a wonderful sight, and visible with basic telescopes and even binoculars.
 
i suspected it was jupiter as it isn't quite red enough for mars.

venus is much closer to the horizon.
 
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