Has anyone seen the flashing star ?

I'm in Illinois, the star is west to me, midwest US, there's been a star I've noticed the past month or so that's seemingly getting closer and closer. It's to the point now where it's very obviously flashing colors, at least red, sometimes green/blue I think.

Anyone seen this too? Know what it might be? Is it Elenin ? A planet? Or just a star?
For me, if anybody has seen the Melancholia preview. It's like when Justine says "What star is that ?"
At 0:33. It's life imitating art or art imitating life. I have no idea what it is. Has anybody else seen it ? Or am I worrying for nothing ? That star was not there last month, if I was I didn't see it. What is it ?

It's not Antares because it is west to me, not south

reply to post by Heartisblack


I have seen this on multiple occasions and have yet to identify it. I will be using my compass and telescope next clear night I get.

Stellarium. Download it here [link]. Install. Find the object. If you still can't identify it--THEN worry about it....

Yeah, I've noticed it too. It didn't bother me enough to say anything due to being ridiculed, but yeah that thing has been going wild. I live on the gulf coast.

I know stars twinkle, but it seems out of the ordinary.

reply to post by josh2009s


Please do, it is been stationary for months on end.

I know exactly what you're talking about as I've seen a star that seems to flash different colors but I'm no expert. I downloaded an application for free called stellarium 0.11.0 and it was just a star. And as the MGM studio logo is latin for "art for arts' sake" I think sometimes movies are just that. I don't think it should be anything to worry about, the media likes to play on people's curiosities and fears for profit.

I'm in Illinois as well, and yes, I've also seen what you are referring to.

I've been watching it for months now as I'm an avid skywatcher. I'm not a professional astronomer, but I know my way around.

It only appears like it's getting closer and it does seem to blink different colors and that probably means it's a satellite. I understand what you mean by colors as there is a difference between the twinkling of a star and the blinking of colors of whatever this object in the sky is.

Satellites can move to the left or right as you're watching them and it's very noticeable as they make the necessary timed adjustments to the satellite. So, make a note of the time when it appears to move and see if it moves at that time the next night, or the same time and day the week after, and so on.

I'm 90% positive that what you're looking at is a communications satellite for cell phones and so on. At times there is only one noticeable one in the Chicago & burbs area, but at other times there are 2 unmistakeable (to the naked eye) satellites in the area and this is during the holidays -especially New Years week.

With that aside, do you see anything to the East? However this one is not blinking colors and it's not Venus. If you know what it is, please let me know.

-One Nation Under: A Starry Sky

Southern Illinois here.

Where do I look again? I am about to go smoke. I seen two satellites crossing ach other's orbits earlier.(or it seemn so, I cannot confirm altitude of course.) Then right after i seen a bright one that I thought was the space station. It was'nt because i imediately cam in an made the girlfriend put tetris on hold so I could track it for a minute.....Not the space station, it was a bright satellite though.

I need a smoke?

Edit: I read west twice, sorry..........Looking west.

I am going to flag your thread. I just saw(seen) a killer shooting star. The moon is coming up to the east with , I need to look up what planet it is sorry, under it.... What a beutiful sky.

I did not notice any star changing colors to the west. Sorry I will keep looking and observing.....

The shooting star was a smoker, it lit up pretty good...This made my night

reply to post by Ex_CT2


Is stellarium better than google sky??

Creepy trailer. To me, it sounds more like a warning when they talk, than dialogue in a movie. Maybe it's just selective hearing.

"I just have one thing to say, enjoy it while it lasts. I myself hate marriage. - @0.44 in the trailer. Like I said, creepy.

reply to post by LeTan

I know it sounds like a warning, it's creepy that is the reason why I want to see that movie. It comes out 30th September for UK and 4th November for US.

reply to post by Heartisblack

Anyone seen this too? Know what it might be? Is it Elenin ? A planet? Or just a star?

The flicker that we see here on Earth is caused by atmospheric fluctuations. The star isn't really flickering like that, it just looks like it is because the atmosphere alters it slightly when the light passes through.

I haven't seen the star you are describing, but I have been curious about the movie. I may go see it today.
I have an american houseguest at the moment, and she wanted to go see a movie in VO, and that's the only one playing in VO here at the moment. KInda gave me the creeps to see the trailer, as I am currently struggling with a desire to divorce, and everyone talking about Elenin all the time and stuff......

Near Chicago here. I clicked on the thread and thought "ive seen a flashing star. It gets pretty crazy sometimes, I wonder where this person is from," then...Illinois. We are most def. seeing something. Keep updating. I wanna know what we can find out.

I was actually looking at the stars the other days and noticed the red/blue/green blinking star or whatever it is but it is very weird because if you look at the other stars they blink a single color i have seen this object before in the sky and wrote it off as a star BTW im from massachusetts.... like to see how this topic is going to progress..

I've seen the same thing here in aberdeen u.k.It was in the south sky usually around 9p.m.This was in the spring/early summer,haven't noticed it since(probably due to it always being cloudy)I was told that it was jupiter.If you looked really hard it looked like two stars almost on top of each other & was slightly larger & brighter than the other stars.Could the look of two stars virtually on top of each other be jupiter & one of its moons?

i have also seen this star? ... it was defo towards the south ... im in the UK ... i have been sky watching since joining ats and the colours changes caught my attention, because it was so bright and prominent but i passed it off as maybe always being there and i hadnt noticed it before.

I saw a star that matches your description a few nights ago, thought it was unusually twinkly and bright so I looked at it with binoculars and got the same impression... bits of color flash. I went and got my planisphere, it showed that where this star was located, west slightly south at 9pm 8/17, is in Scorpio. So I guessed it to be Antares like you mentioned. I don't think that pretty star is Nibiru. I hope someone will be able to tell us all for sure what we're seeing, definitely unlike the other stars visible to naked eye right now here... Leo rising at dawn won't be visible in N. America until early October anyway, best time to look for Elenin and Honda around 10/7 I've read somewhere. Nibiru.. I'll believe it if it shows up then.

Could it possibly be the Sirius star? It tends to look like it flickers red and blue.

I have noticed that it seems to stand out more in the night sky over the last few months in Northern Ontario Canada. Nothing else unusual in the western sky though.