what is this thing in the sky?

ok im not sure where to post this so please move if this is not the right forum.



i live east of colorado springs and earlier tonight i was out side after dark. i was looking at the stars in the south sky. i seen something that was sparkling that looked to be a satellite but it was shinning brighter than any other satellite i have seen. now its 4 am and i just came back inside and the thing has moved to almost strait west. if you can find the big dipper look for the handle of it and its right around that area. im not going to say its a ufo or any thing like that but i was wondering what it is. im going to watch for it tomorrow to see if its there again. sorry no pics or any thing. i dont have a camera that will take good enough pictures at night.

more than likely its just a satellite that i haven't noticed. and its not a plane its not moving that fast across the sky. it moved 90 degrees in the sky in about 6 hours.

just curious thanks

Taking 6 hours and moving to the west highly suggests a celestial object.

Following the handle of the Big Dipper, we run into a star that is very bright known as Acturus.

If we keep going straight from there, at this time of year will be another bright object, that is not twinkling and that would be Saturn, which appears more to the south.

Given the times you've indicated and the amount of time it took to travel (6 hours) and the direction it went in, I believe that is more than likely what you were seeing: Saturn.

As long as you have clear skies, you should see it again tonight just fine, and it will do the same thing.

www.youtube.com...

anyone know what this is?

Originally posted by couponbook
www.youtube.com...

anyone know what this is?

It's a youtube video

Sorry couldn't resist.

reply to post by NISMOALTI


I agree it sounds like a Star , it may have been Arcturus but that's just one of several .


If you want to know for sure check out Stellarium , its free and will help you pinpoint what you saw .

reply to post by eriktheawful


I completely agree with eriktheawful. You should probably download one of those applications to track stars and satellites and verify the information yourself tonight. If it doesn't match anything let us know.

I've always noticed that Arcturus is a very noticeable star when it scintillates ("twinkles"), due to its brightness and is ruddy orange color. When Arcturus does scintillate, it seems to twinkle very quickly and variably between several colors, putting on quite a show. The OP said "sparkles", which is a good way to describe it sometimes (depending on the amount of scintillation).

Arcturus is a bit away from the Big Dipper, but its handle can be used to find Arcturus (and another bright star, Spica). The "old astronomer's saying" is that you "follow the arc to Arcturus, then speed on to Spica", with the arc being the arc-shaped handle of the Big Dipper. If you follow that arc, the first bright star you find is Arcturus. Then if you keep going, you the next bright star you eventually come across is Spica.