What is that bright large object in sky, a planet?

I reside in southern California. Ever since 2008 I have noticed a large, bright round "star" in the sky. It's VERY noticeable and stands out, like a mini moon. Like a star but much more larger and brighter with an intense glow.

It's usually somewhere around west at nighttime.

I inquired once with a friend and he said that's a planet but unsure which one.

The strange thing is that I have grown up here and I honestly don't recall seeing any planets, just some stars and the moon. Perhaps I just simply forgotten?

Anyone know which planet that is?

Thanks!

Hmmm... Venus, maybe?

I think its definitely Venus that you are seeing

i saw it tonight its very bright

Most likely venus.

also, and i really shouldn't have to say this.....but if it's there every night and you've been viewing it since last year, then why the hell would you even make a post here without a QUALITY picture or video.

Originally posted by jack1p
The strange thing is that I have grown up here and I honestly don't recall seeing any planets, just some stars and the moon. Perhaps I just simply forgotten?

I would venture a bet for all the money in my pockets in the moment (and I do have a rather large cheque I received today!) that some of those 'stars' have been planets all along! - and even artificial satellites and not least our glorious natural satellite.

There are a few good apps on the internet that can help - try google sky, it's part of google earth... Theres also a site called heavens above (which I have not used in ages... I think I used it for satalites)

You will need to know your position on the planet - google maps will give you that, once you know your lat / long figure out the compass bearing your looking at (in astromony that is called the azimuth) and how high in the sky your looking at in degrees from the horizon (the elevation)... then all you ned is the date and time... And if no one can tell you what your looking at after you've got those 3 bits of data you might have something interesting

As far as i recall, (not being an avid ametrur astronomer)
in mid Dec when the Venus/Jupiter/Crescent Moon presented us
earth bound viewers with a cosmic 'happy face'

Venus has moved on rapidly, so has the Moon...
however -> Jupiter which has a 12 year long orbit

seems to have been more-or-less 'stationary'...mostly because of its
long orbit And the relative location of the Earth...
which results in Jupiter seeming to be stationary,
but in fact, like the Earth, has itself travelked millions of miles in its own orbit.


don't hold me to hard empiracal evidence---> but the bright point of light
you are seeing is the same old Jupiter -> for more than a month now !

but wait until the earth flies past Jupiter in the coming weeks, it will fly out
of our view rather quickly & not be seen until the right conditions replay
themselves...

~ciao~

It is Venus. Just thank the space God's that it isnt Uranus!!

2nd line


Cheers!!!!

I've been seeing this too, and I have to admit, it's had me scratching my head. I make no assumptions as to what it is, I just know that I hadn't seen it before here recently.

A likely canidate would of coarse be Venus but it would depend alot on the time of night.. You have not given much data about what you are seeing ie time, degrees above the horizon, constelations in the vicinity.. Because you say west i would assume what you are seeing is Venus but there are a few stars which are just as bright as venus.. One that springs to mind is Sirrus which is quite a brilliant looking star and can be seen about 3 or 4 degrees to the left and below the constelation Orion...

daz__

I did not realize it is possible to see so many planets without a telescope.

I am from LA and never been "out", so I guess that would explain it. Basically all you usually see here are 5-6 stars, the moon, and LAPD choppers

Sorry I don't have a picture I don't have a suitable camera. But it's pretty obvious for people around here... it's like a tiny moon. Brightest and largest thing second to the moon.

My curiosity besides what planet it is, is why haven't I see it before? Was it always there and I have just forgotten, or is it a new phenomena?

I think I also need to study astronomy again, I thought "stars" were just lights (embarrassed).

reply to post by jack1p


Yes they have always been there Well as far as you and me are concerned... There would of been a time when they were not there but as far as your concerned all of human history has looks up and pretty much seen the same celestial dance - hell all the dinosaurs did, and probably all life that has existed on Earth has pretty much seen the same sights.

Good point about living in citys though and being disconnected from the stars and planets cos of the light pollution - only the last couple of generations have had that... So in that way were kinda unique

[edit on 18/1/2009 by Now_Then]

Go download Stellarium, it'll answer any question you have about an object in the sky. Even if it can't Identify it, you'll know it's not a natural happening.

I've been wondering too what this light is. I've too though that it might be Venus, but can Venus shine so bright that it can be easily seen middle of the day when no stars are visible?

There was this other thread here talking about the same thing yesterday but it seemed to be deleted or something.

YES AM SURE ITS VENUS

That's an interesting software, thanks for the link.

Now that I know it is Venus, does anyone know if it was always there?

I don't mean the planet, I mean was it always that visible, bright, large etc.?

It's still bugging me why I just notice it now. I've been living around the same area for over 20 years, I even grew up here, and I just see it now? It's not making any sense to me.

It also appears there are a few posters with the same curiosity.

Logically, I am guessing that the planet got "closer" to Earth.... is that possible?

I live in North Carolina And I belive it may also be Jupitor. Figuring the 2nd large one is gone now which was there in Dec but is gone now. Its just one big ball now. It has been there for a long time and does make me wonder some nights what it is. I see it from around 8pm until 11pm. So yeah its there. Of course I go to bed at 11 so it may still be there after that but I dont look. So not sure.

Hilda

Everyone please go here STELLARIUM download the free program and you will see all the stars and planets above you, based on your location date and time

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

That's funny that you posted that. I was just thinking about that last night and was wondering if that was Venus. Yeah it is very bright.

reply to post by jack1p


Yes, it's always that bright when it's far enough away from the sun in the sky (at roughly maximum elongation). It reaches maximum elongation both on the evening side of things and then some months later on in the morning side of things when most people are still sleeping. Thus you usually end up missing it half the time unless you're early to rise. And to answer an earlier question, yes if you're really skilled you can spot it in the daytime.

[edit on 22-1-2009 by ngchunter]

I see it every night over Texas.
Have never seen it before in my life.
I have seen Venus, Mars, etc. before...

One day it seemed to appear.

All the posts about 'lights' recently all over the World...posts on meteors, etc.

This will increase as we get closer to the CGP.

One could say, we will pass though an asteroid belt, like the rings of Saturn. This ring remains constant, whereas our arm floats up and down and crosses the CGP often.

Interesting how we have 2 objects. One very bright and visible, and the other very dark and hidden.

I am more worried about the dark one. Does that thing have a name?