Something I noticed in the sky

Not sure if this is the forum to post this, but if any of you get a chance tonight, or tomorrow night, look up at the sky for a star that is a little bluer than the other ones out there. I have not been paying too much attention to the new lately, so maybe this is something that I SHOULD know about but don't. Just wanted to see if:

1. Anyone noticed this too?
2. Anyone knows what the heck it is?

It is probably normal, and I am just a little too observant.

-P

1. What direction are we to be looking?
2. What continent are you from? (There are members of ATS in Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Germany. Your sky may not be exactly our sky)
3. What time of the night do you seem to notice this "star"?

With a bit more info we can try to determine what you are seeing.


[Edited on 1-14-2004 by darklanser]

Did it by chance have any other colors flickering or changeing along with it? I do insist that you follow up on this for a couple more night when possible. Try and notice if it maintains the same exact horizontal path, and happens to appear to be moveing counter clock wise(widdershins for you pagans).

The reason I mention all this, is because I have been tracking an anomily for some time now. And I can see more than just blue. Also everyone I point it out to conforms what I saw, even the rapid color changes.

I guessing your not color blind, but even my color blind friend could see this thing clearly. So if you could, please keep me posted on this event. Before I forget, as I almost did, plot it's location, along with the surounding constellations.

Are you in the Northern hemisphere by any chance?

I'd say its Venus. If the 'star' you are referring to is in the western sky for a few hours after sunset. (South west for northern hemisphere folk).

I had the same question about a month ago. Noticed the extra bright star and had a little look to make sure it was nothing out of the ordinary. Turns out it was just boring old Venus.

Venus is now prominent in the south-western sky after sunset and is beginning to climb higher in the sky. Look for it just where the Sun has set. On the far side of the Sun, we see much of its face illuminated with a relativly small angular size of ~ 13 arc seconds. This will increase to ~ 15 arc seconds by the end of the month. The thick clouds mean that there is no detail to see. It is still worth observing the changes in angular size along with the phases that are similar to those shown by the Moon. It was the observations by Galileo of these phases, along with the major change in angular size, that proved that the Copernican model of the Solar System was correct. Had Venus been orbiting the Earth, between us and the Sun, he could not have seen the "full" phases that we see this month.

www.jb.man.ac.uk...

Originally posted by ADVISOR
Did it by chance have any other colors flickering or changeing along with it? I do insist that you follow up on this for a couple more night when possible. Try and notice if it maintains the same exact horizontal path, and happens to appear to be moveing counter clock wise(widdershins for you pagans).

The reason I mention all this, is because I have been tracking an anomily for some time now. And I can see more than just blue. Also everyone I point it out to conforms what I saw, even the rapid color changes.

I guessing your not color blind, but even my color blind friend could see this thing clearly. So if you could, please keep me posted on this event. Before I forget, as I almost did, plot it's location, along with the surounding constellations.

Are you in the Northern hemisphere by any chance?

i am. i notice something flickering(red and blue and white) in the sky. i always assumed(oops!) that it was a geosynchronous satellite.

oh, yeah, and venus doesn't flicker.

my moneys on satellite, Ive seen them before and was told its GPS...they did change color just as you describe.

it could also be the star vega.

Ah where are you looking in the sky? Northern hemisphere?

Might be the International Space Station too...

PEACE...
m...

oh, yeah, and venus doesn't flicker.

Who said it did?

As far as being a satellite or the ISS etc, those things tend to move around a little quick to be confused with stars and planets.

Thanks for the replies to all. I am sorry for being so vague. I live in the northern hemisphere. I am not an astronomer by any stretch of the imagination, but it seemed to be sitting between some of the constelations. It was nowhere near the horizon, but it wasn't directly above me either. I had to look a little south, and up if that makes any sense at all. Also, there were no other discernable colors. Ima gonna check for it tonight. If I see it, I will take a snapshot (if I can) and post it k? It truly looked like a star, but it stood out because it was quite a bit bluer in hue than the others. Sorry again for the vagueness.

-P

Sometimes, the stars you see, DO flicker and change color ...This is because of scintillation ("Twinkling") as the light passes through the atmosphere of the Earth. As the air moves in and out, the starlight is refracted, often different colors in different directions. Because of this "chromatic abberation," stars can appear to change colors when they are twinkling strongly.

Stars twinkle because of turbulence in the atmosphere of the Earth. As the atmosphere churns, the light from the star is refracted in different directions. This causes the star's image to change slightly in brightness and position, hence "twinkle." This is one of the reasons the Hubble telescope is so successful: in space, there is no atmosphere to make the stars twinkle, allowing a much better image to be obtained.

Hi postings!

You say you were looking south and it was evening time?

As kano says, it was *possibly* Venus, which is very prominent at present, although doesn't normally give off a "blue" tinge (well, to my eyes anyway).

Keep looking if it is clear and try to get some type of compass bearing and altitude estimate ie degrees above the horizon, and we can probably take it from there.

Happy hunting!

Yes, it is most likely Venus, especially if it looks stationary. The most luminent body in the night sky at the moment, besides the moon.

Every once in a while, you can observe a satellite passing over, depending on your location. We jsut moved not too long ago from Chicago to the far south burbs, any the night sky here is awesome! Satellites come into view every so often on a clear night, and I run in the house to grab my wife. They just look like a faint orange dot moving slowly across the sky.

Yes, it is most likely Venus, especially if it looks stationary. The most luminent body in the night sky at the moment, besides the moon.

Every once in a while, you can observe a satellite passing over, depending on your location. We jsut moved not too long ago from Chicago to the far south burbs, any the night sky here is awesome! Satellites come into view every so often on a clear night, and I run in the house to grab my wife. They just look like a faint orange dot moving slowly across the sky.

I live in the United Kingdom, and i noticed it just a few days ago. I pointed it out. But we thought it was just the Space Station. I don't know the times it circles but i assumed it was. I saw it for two days in mid day then it went. (just a week ago if i remember...correctly)

Originally posted by Kano

oh, yeah, and venus doesn't flicker.

Who said it did?

As far as being a satellite or the ISS etc, those things tend to move around a little quick to be confused with stars and planets.

dunno. to lazy to go back through the thread. somebody said it might be venus, though.

maybe it was Rigel, Betelguese's twin star. Its blue, and large. Its part of the constellation orion.

I can see it right now. If you look at the big dipper, and find the handle, and sorta trace a line towards the direction the handle is pointing, it will come close to the star in the sky. It is the brightest thing in that area from my vantage point (northern hemisphere). Maybe it is normal, who knows, but it is definitely bluer than the other stars from what I can tell.

-P