Is Jupiter always so big and bright and next to the moon? also its coming towards us??

reply to post by Devino
Not really.

Venus and Mars are sort of close to each other angularly but are nowhere near the moon. Jupiter is close to the Moon but will not pass behind it. Uranus not very close to the Moon and will not pass behind it and is not visible to the naked eye anyway. Jupiter and Neptune are aligned with each other but Neptune is not visible to the naked eye.

In four days the Moon will be close to Venus and Mars but far away from Jupiter and Neptune.

reply to post by Phage


I should have added a few lol emoticons or something because I was just being silly. I know the planets would never all line up behind our Moon during a massive solar system node crossing. Watching a systematic lunar transit in front of all the planets would be a good indication for me to cut back on the meds.

Originally posted by Nventual
I'm in Australia. Jupiter is the closest to the moon right now what I saw must have been in between them in my view, because I could a glimpse of Jupiter just before in a gap of cloud and it looked like a normal star just a bit brigther. Certainly not what I saw. Is it possible for an object to be there and then not? Hypothetically if it was something approaching?

hah, funny that. im in australia too - queensland. and at 4.30 am to 5am every morning there is the WEIRDEST 'star' in the sky (east i think). Everyone keeps assuring me its venus but it's really BIG. venus has never been that big to my knowledge. and it just doesnt Look right. The first time i saw it i freaked a little bit cuz it shudnt be that big; not if its a star or planet i dont think.
there's a thread on ats called 'strange star in the sky'. a lot of people worldwide seem to be seeing some weird star. but half of the people on the thread reckon its just venus. altho i am not convinced.

reply to post by rapunzel222


Venus made a close approach to Earth, inferior conjunction, on March 26th 2009 passing us by in its orbit. Venus, rising in the East as the morning star, will appear to be very bright but continually become dimmer on its way back around the Sun.

If you look at Venus through a telescope you should see its crescent shape confirming that it is not a star, binoculars might even work. A planet viewed through a telescope will have a more defined look to its shape and stars will appear more like streaks of flickering light with no clear definable shape or appear to twinkle.

If it's Jupiter, then there's nothing to worry about. I've observed go faint like Saturn and go very bright like Venus or an incoming 747 jet.

It's my favorite planet to view on the telescope. Big, circle, and its moons are easily visible

[edit on 17-5-2009 by ahnggk]

Jupiter is a beautiful planet and with nothing more then a cheap pair of binoculars you can watch 4 of its moons dance around night after night. This planet is also known as Zeus, Anu, Baal and Amon-Ra which means king of the gods and is said to be our protector against deadly comets. Listening to the sounds created by Jupiter makes it easy to think of this planet as being alive.



Many people don't pay much attention to Venus, I used to be one of them. I still think it's amazing how different this planet can appear giving it an out of place look at certain times.

My interest in Venus was totally changed after I read the thread, Was the Planet Venus a Comet? It didn't take me long to realize how little is known about our solar system as I put together my reply to that question. What I found from researching Venus, comets and their origins completely stunned me.

[edit on 5/18/2009 by Devino]

reply to post by Nventual


During parts of the year, it is coming toward us. During other parts of the year, it is going away from us. It doesn't seem to know what to do!

Originally posted by Nventual
I just went back out to look, and... there is thick cloud everywhere! I can't even see the moon! wtf!!! 5 minutes ago when I saw Jupiter the sky was 100% clear.

Could it be Nibiru and there has been some cloud seeding and you caught it before it happened?

For all we know, this Nibiru could be in front of Jupiter. But I will say there is something strange with Jupiter, I got some strange photos from last year, I am still not sure if it was a UFO or Jupiter but you could see it at 5pm at night in the sky, one minute there, and the next not.

Jupiter is acting weird for me too but I presume it is just in my head.

I am 100% sure of what I saw when I made this thread though. It was a big surprise what I saw which is why I ran inside and upstairs and made the post and didn't even finish my cigarette. I come back out 5 minutes later and the sky is covered in clouds despite being perfectly clear just 5 minutes earlier. I'm not sure what to think. Seems to big to be some conspiracy.

Originally posted by SoulOrb

Could it be Nibiru and there has been some cloud seeding and you caught it before it happened?

For all we know, this Nibiru could be in front of Jupiter. But I will say there is something strange with Jupiter, I got some strange photos from last year, I am still not sure if it was a UFO or Jupiter but you could see it at 5pm at night in the sky, one minute there, and the next not.

Unless nibiru looks exactly like Jupiter and behaves exactly like Jupiter then we know nibiru isn't in front of Jupiter.

You may also want to read up on cloud seeding, you need existing clouds to seed.

Also, a good reference tool for celestial bodies is Stellarium

Stellarium is what I used when I made the thread, that's how I knew it was Jupiter. Perhaps I had some sort of mild hallucination or "vision". Not sure. But yeah I honestly saw Jupiter a lot larger than it was when I went back out, a lot larger... I had no idea what it was. It didn't look like a star which is why I was worried and checked to find out it was Jupiter. But then went back out and it was a tiny size, certainly not what it was when I saw it.

I think I've always been attracted to astronomy and couldn't say how many times I've see something that amazed me beyond words. The more I understand celestial events the more they appear to stand out capturing my attention that inspires me to learn more.

The way you describe your experience reminds me of some of my own, planets or stars that stand out in such a way as to look bazaar or out of place. Personally I have come to accept this as normal. If this is what you experienced that night then it is sure to happen again simply by observing and learning more.

I believe reality is far more interesting than fiction.