Star Visible every night in NYC

I live in brooklyn and there is a bright shining star visible in the night sky. First i thought it was a UFO but it is stationary. What is the name of the star or is it some kind of comet?

reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface


Probably the ISS, its getting bigger as they add stuff to it.
Last 2 years I can see it almost every night. Bright and in orbit with earth.
Neat when the sun sets, the light bounces off making it real shiny.

Originally posted by warrenb
reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface

 

Probably the ISS, its getting bigger as they add stuff to it.
Last 2 years I can see it almost every night. Bright and in orbit with earth.
Neat when the sun sets, the light bounces off making it real shiny.

ISS doesn't look stationary does it? I thought it moved through the sky at a pretty good pace like a satellite. I could be wrong though.

I found this too:

Just after sunset on July 22, look for a slender crescent moon close to the horizon and the planet Mercury. On July 23, the moon is near Regulus while the next night, July 24, the moon is near Saturn. The moon slips to the other side of Saturn on July 25. On July 27, the moon is near Spica. The moon ends the month on July 30 and 31 near Antares, where it began this month.

stargazing.suite101.com...

Originally posted by warrenb
reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface

 

Probably the ISS, its getting bigger as they add stuff to it.
Last 2 years I can see it almost every night. Bright and in orbit with earth.
Neat when the sun sets, the light bounces off making it real shiny.

I thought it was that Matereya star, i dont believe in those kinda stuff but i am interested. Wonder if its really the ISS.

reply to post by getreadyalready


it doesn't move like a satellite
unless what I've been seeing for two years is something else in orbit...

Originally posted by warrenb
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

it doesn't move like a satellite
unless what I've been seeing for two years is something else in orbit...

No its stationary and bright!

reply to post by warrenb

First to keep in mind is that while we are used to seeing celestial objects rising in the east and setting in the west - such isn't the case with either the shuttle of ISS, which is why it's very handy to have NASA provide the sightings times for you. Generally, the station and shuttle move from west to east across the sky, looking much like a slow moving star.

The best times to view are just after sunset or before sunrise when the vehicles are reflecting the most sunlight and are easiest to see. A few days before and after the shuttle docks with the ISS is a great time to see both of them as the shuttle will be close to the station and you may see a double pass.

starryskies.net...

ISS moves West to East and fairly quickly! Warren, you must have been looking at Venus all these years.

Edit to add tracking page:
The "Where is the International Space Station?" site lets users identify the orbiting Space Station and determine in advance when it will pass over their hometowns.
spaceflight.nasa.gov...

[edit on 31-7-2009 by getreadyalready]

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by warrenb

 

First to keep in mind is that while we are used to seeing celestial objects rising in the east and setting in the west - such isn't the case with either the shuttle of ISS, which is why it's very handy to have NASA provide the sightings times for you. Generally, the station and shuttle move from west to east across the sky, looking much like a slow moving star.

The best times to view are just after sunset or before sunrise when the vehicles are reflecting the most sunlight and are easiest to see. A few days before and after the shuttle docks with the ISS is a great time to see both of them as the shuttle will be close to the station and you may see a double pass.

starryskies.net...

ISS moves West to East and fairly quickly! Warren, you must have been looking at Venus all these years.

What about here in NYC? I saw one from a skyscrapper! you know in the city the lights almost diminish any stars in the sky but this one particular was very bright!

You can download "Stellarium" and try to find out what the bright, stationary object in the night sky is:

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.

www.stellarium.org...

Stellarium is very easy to use, and I am sure it will help solve the mystery. Good luck!

reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface


spaceflight.nasa.gov...

Tonight just after sunset should be a perfect time to view it from NYC. This link is pretty cool, I never used it before, but it provides a lot of data!!

reply to post by getreadyalready


can't be Venus if the light bounces off of it
and it's not completely stationary, it does move but at a very slow rate
I've even seen it with the moon behind it, so no it's not Venus

maybe some spy satellite or mapping satellite

reply to post by warrenb


Ya, it could be a 'Geosynchronous' satellite like GPS uses. These don't move in relation to a spectator on Earth. They are stationary over a point. If so you could probably identify it with some of the sky software that is available.

reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface


Really cool information on here guys I think I will do it later tonight when I get home. Thanks a bunch

reply to post by warrenb

can't be Venus if the light bounces off of it

???

Reason we CAN see venus is because of reflected light. Same with the Moon.

and it's not completely stationary, it does move but at a very slow rate

Well, for one night's observation, Venus would appear stationary in relation to any stars you could see as well. BUT, of course, the entire canopy of the sky moves overhead as the World Turns...( Hey! That's make a good title for....a soap opera!! )

Venus, sometimes Jupiter, are commonly mistaken for something "artificial"...haven't checked 'Stellarium' yet, will now.

If its in the south and rises from the east, I believe that would be Jupiter. I see it every night. Venus rises early in the morning...


PEACE!!!

reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface

What part of NY, what direction is the object in and what time is it most visible?

2.

If the Moon is BEHIND this object however as stated, then obviously its not going to be Venus/Jupiter as that would put the object somewhere between the Earth and the Moon. S+F.

Originally posted by -NewSense-
reply to post by Salvatore_Rubberface

 

What part of NY, what direction is the object in and what time is it most visible?

2.

Well i see it in Brooklyn in a Northwestward direction and i saw it in Manhattan at about 10:00 PM EST, same direction. I'll try to post a picture today if the sky is not too cloudy because we're getting a lot of rains here. And its very shinny like light is reflecting off of it like rays coming off of it. Its an amazing sight.

reply to post by ROBL240


I dont recall the op stating it was in front of the moon...

The ISS is not stationery by any means, only visible for about 4-5 minutes max as it treks across the sky in an orbital fashion. Most likely you're seeing Venus as it slowly treks across the night sky. Yes Venus does indeed seem to "move" albeit very slowly across the sky as the Earth is rotating. In North America Venus should be visible after Dusk in the Eastern Sky.