Large and Bright "star" in the South Australian night sky.

Anybody else see it?

I live in Melbourne and normally there's only one "bright star" (Jupiter i think) which is mostly always near the Moon. I'm a star gazer and look at the stars every single night. I've never seen this one before. Is there a program i could possibly use to find out what exactly i'm looking or does someone know what it is?

Cheers in advance.

Download Stellarium and see what you get.

My guess is, if it's low and towards the west, it's Venus.

Check out Stelarium....i think thats the spelling. Type it into google

It's in a South-Western Direction and pretty low in the sky so it probably is venus if you're correct. Checking your link now, thanks for posting so quick lol.

If you use an Android phone, download Google Sky Map, or Star Chart.

Two amazing app's, simply open and point in direction of the sky where your planet, star, whatever is located to see exactly what it is

Can't see anything here in Melbourne.. it's too cloudy but there was a similar thread on this a few days ago. I use Starmap Pro in iPhone. Awesome App!

IRM

I'm in Melbourne too and just had a look up and can see it, it IS really bright, I remember seeing one similar to this a few months back although it was in a totally different position.

Can anyone tell us what it is?

I'm in Melbourne, I just went outside to have a look and there is nothing out of the ordinary..?

Have a look at the monthly charts on the Sydney Observatory link below. Your answer should be easy to find.


Sydney Observatory Monthly Sky Guide

reply to post by aRogue


North-West it should be Jupiter

yeh im looking at it right now out my window from adelaide
very bright hey
solid west direction

reply to post by aRogue


It is Venus to the west (slightly south west) and is very bright this time of year in the sky. The second biggest object up there. Jupiter is not as big now as it was a few months back. Hope this helps.

Clouds have moved, I'm south east Melb, I see Jupiter.

You do realize there's a difference between a planet and a star, right? I'm not poking fun it's just that it sounds like you're considering this to be Jupiter or Venus which makes the title to this thread wrong.

reply to post by Human_Alien


Who is this directed at? Refer to the quotation marks in the thread title?

earthsky.org...

December 2011 guide to the five visible planets

Evening planets in December 2011: Venus and Jupiter

Venus and Jupiter – the sky’s two most brilliant planets – pop out first thing at evening dusk. Given clear skies, you simply can’t miss these dazzling worlds. Shining much more brilliantly than any star, Venus and Jupiter rank as the third-brightest and fourth-brightest celestial bodies to light up the heavens, respectively, after the sun and moon.

Venus blazes like a lighthouse in the southwest sky at dusk and early evening. But be sure to catch Venus soon after the sun goes down. At mid-northern latitudes, this world follows the sun beneath the horizon less than two hours after sundown in early December. By the end of the month, Venus stays out for over two and one-half hours after sunset. In January 2012, watch for Venus to climb up higher into the evening sky and to stay out longer after dark.

Use the moon to verify that you’ve found Venus in late December, as the thin lunar crescent pairs up with Venus on the evenings of December 26 and 27.

Jupiter shines from nightfall until the wee hours of the morning all though December. Because Venus – the sky’s brightest planet – sets in the southwest at early evening, that leaves Jupiter to lord over the late night sky all through December. Watch for Jupiter to move westward and upward throughout the early evening hours. Jupiter transits – that is, reaches its high point in the sky – at roughly 9 p.m. in early December and 7 p.m. by the month’s end.

After soaring to its highest point for the night, Jupiter then descends into the western half of the sky. Look for Jupiter to set in the west earlier each morning as December approaches January. Jupiter sets in the west around 4 a.m. in early December, and 2 a.m. by the end of the month. As Jupiter sets in the west, look for Saturn to rise in the east.

Originally posted by Violence
reply to post by Human_Alien

 

Who is this directed at? Refer to the quotation marks in the thread title?

To everyone who is offering up a planet as an explanation I guess.

I thought planets weren't supposed to twinkle and I see this thing twinkling.

ahhh im pretty sure its Betelgeuse everyone is talking about, i hope it goes supernova soon now that would be a light show il never forget. you cant miss it in the sky, it sparkles like a diamond

yeah I see it, it is usually around this time of year...starting from about November and in sight until end of January.