a star in the sky

[Dan Glebitts]

from my bedroom window i can see one solitary star against the night sky...does anyone know what it is called and can you see it too? the sky is very dark blue here btw

[Katie~77]

I can see three! One to the left of the moon, one to the right and one above the moon. Have another look.x

[Dan Glebitts]

i can see one to the left, one only just to the right but i cant see the one above, maybe it is town smog

[David H]

I saw a single star at dusk onwards for about an hour once, which was probably the pole star and often comes out before the others, though it was the first time I'd ever noticed it.

[dilf]

the brightest star in the sky is not a star but is sky lab i think .it became visible when they fitted solar panels a few years back.
if you can see only one star in a sky its more than likely man made
it could be beatleguise the red super giant at the top of orion .
also i dont think it was polaris as katie and dan mention the moon which is generaly in the southern sky[ skylab turf ] and polaris is north

and theres venus of course which gets my vote, but its a planet not a star as we know

[n00dles]

"You can't be Sirius!!!"

BTW you can only see 2,000 stars at any one time with the naked eye....

[heathfield]

The brightest 'star' at the moment, and the first you'll see in the evening, is the planet Jupiter. Have a look here

[Nemesis9]

Dilf is correct in the assertion that the brightest object visible in the sky is not a star, but is quite incorrect about it being skylab, (Skylab burnt up in the Earths atmosphere in July 1979). The likelihood is that what you saw was actually a planet (Venus in all probability), as is it is the fist 'star like' object to become visible to the naked eye in the evening.

Most of the brightest objects visible at night are actually planets, with the main ones being: Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Mercury is also briefly visible during the day, just after the sun sets (before it gets dark).

[dilf]

well nemisis i think i meant the space station cos venus isnt in the sky till the early hours.see heathfs link

and heathfs i dont see where it says jupiter is the brightest and isnt it reddy coulored

im changing my mind and going for the space stationy thing

[Darrenlass77]

The international space station (ISS) moves across the night sky (and takes a few minutes to cross from one horizon to the other) so if it was a static "star", it's not the ISS.

Just in case anyone is interested, this site will let you work out when the ISS is going to be visible for you:-

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings /cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+Kingdom

[kags]

Is it in the South and does it twinkle? If it doesn't twinkle, then it is in all likelihood Jupiter. If it twinkles, it is a star, and unless you can say what direction you are looking at, the elevation, the colour and the time then it is difficult to say which one.

[kags]

Jupiter should be near the moon tonight, so that will give you the answer.

[Nemesis9]

Part 1
Kags, sorry to pedantic, but the Moon revolves around the Earth, so, rather like a stopped clock, your answer will only be correct for a brief period.

I made the suggestion of Venus based on the assumption that the window you were looking out of was NOT a ceiling or Velux window, therefore the �Star� you described was in all probability somewhere between the horizon and say 60 degrees.

[Nemesis9]

Part 2
Dilf, remember that Venus is the second closest planet to our Sun, therefore (due to it�s close proximity to the sun) it is brightly visible BOTH in the early hours of the morning (before Sunrise), and early in the evening (after sunset), when, at this time of year and on a clear night, it is almost always the first, and brightest object visible to the naked eye other than the Moon. It will, of course, never rise high into the night sky, because as the evening progresses, and the Earth rotates further away from the Sun, so Venus will disappear below the horizon.

[kags]

It is never possible to see Venus both in the morning and in the evening Nemesis9 - it is one or the other depending on where Venus is in its orbit.It disappears on the near side of the sun for about 8 days, and re-emerges in the morning sky, until it disappears behind the sun on the far side for about 50 days. It will then re-emerge as an evening object. It is currently only visible in the morning sky, rising about 2 hours before the sun.

[Nemesis9]

Kags, it�s your turn to be pedantic now :-)

The point I was making (without going into the orbital cycle), is that, Venus is known as BOTH the morning, and �evening �star�, due to both it�s brightness, and it�s ability to be seen either at post sunset or pre dawn. Though not, as you correctly state, at the same time, but either one or the other.
I should have looked at time Dan posted (22.27), because if that was when he was looking out the window then Venus would not yet be up, however, if he had viewed it in the early hours of the morning, (As I did walking home from a Club at around 2.30 at the weekend) it would have been there in all its glory.

[kags]

we can be pedantic together ;-)

[Nemesis9]

Sure, ;-)