Thanks, and no worries puhatek - Glad I could help you clear that up.
It turns out that the most commonly reported "UFO" by the public is the planet Venus, so you weren't too far out with Jupiter
I highly recommend you and anyone reading this who has an interest in trying to spot/photograph UFOs, go out and actually familiarize themselves with
all the objects that should be there, so that we can all avoid waisting our time on obvious IFOs and concentrate on the objects that shouldn't be
there, true UFOs.
So grab a sleeping bag + warm cloths (you can always remove clothing if it gets too warm, but that is rarely the case from experience), something
comfortable to recline on, a bite to eat/drink, a torch, and head out to somewhere out of your city town, well away from lights, find a spot with
clear horizons that are unobstructed by trees/canyons, get in to your sleeping bag and prepare to be "wowed" by all the sights the night sky has to
offer - meteors, iridium flares, space junk reentries, and if you are very lucky UFOs! Ok - don't expect to see a meteor explode or a UFO crash in
your first observing session.. that's a sure way to come back feeling disappointed! Be patient, watch and observe, and you will be rewarded.
Just the experience of being out there, under a sky full of stars I find is a humbling one.. but at the same time awe inspiring.. and once your eyes
become truly "dark-adapted" (it can take some time, if you have looked at a bright light previously, even hours before), you will start to see
things that most people have never seen before!
Venus by the way, if you want to see it, is visible as soon as the sun goes down right now, and throughout the rest of this month and May - just look
in the direction of the sun at sunset, and directly above you should see Venus, if you're horizon in that direction is unobstructed. You'll
understand when you see it for the first time, why so many think it's a UFO.. besides the way it twinkles, it is also by far the brightest celestial
object in the sky (besides the Sun and Moon of course)!
I should warn you though, that at this time of year meteor rates are low, however, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks one week from this Sunday (the 22nd),
and meteor rates will rise for a brief few hours before dropping back to their usual level for this time of year. This is a good opportunity to see a
few meteors, before the Persieds (peak on 12th Aug, but can be good in the days before), which will probably be the best Meteor shower for beginners
(and experienced observers) to observe this year. They have a reputation for being bright and colorful!
Sorry if I'm rambling a little here, but as a city dweller (suburbs actually), it's pretty obvious that the vast majority of people who live in
urbanized areas don't have a clue what they are missing, and it saddens me that kids don't seem to be being taught the basics (at least where I am),
and are therefore also missing out on a very important aspect of our environment, which I'm sure affects all of us more than we know, as well as
adding to the general confusion caused when members of the public report UFOs that turn out to be readily identifiable objects.
Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not having a go at you for wasting time or anything like that. If anything I'm glad for the chance to
pass on a little of my knowledge, but also to make the point that, it's easy to jump to conclusions when first starting out if you see something
"unusual", but there is often a mundane explanation that can be found if you take a little time to learn about the various traits and give-aways of
relatively common celestial phenomena, both artificial and natural.. and there is no better way than to go out there and actually observe them for
yourself!
As the ATS motto says.. Deny ignorance!
[edit on 13-4-2007 by C.H.U.D.]