MadSci Network: Astronomy
Query:

Re: What very bright celestial body was visible in the sky at 6 am today?

Date: Mon Sep 20 10:07:56 1999
Posted By: Brent Turcotte, Grad student, Computer Programmer Analyst, None
Area of science: Astronomy
ID: 937414052.As
Message:

The object you were looking at was most likely Venus, the second planet 
from the Sun.  Venus was close to the eastern horizon, but extremely 
bright.  Venus was probably the only object you could see in the sky since 
the Sun was due to come up shortly.  

If it had been a little earlier in the morning, the object you were looking 
at might have also been Jupiter, approximately half way up the southwest 
part of the sky.  The third brightest object is a star called Sirius, the 
brightest star in the sky, which was low in the southeast.

Brightness is rated on the magnitude scale.  The lower the number the 
brighter the object.  Also, 5 magnitudes represent a change of brightness 
of 100.  Most of the visible stars in the sky rate from magnitude 0 to 6, 
with the sixth magnitude requiring fairly dark skies.  The Moon is -12.6, 
the Sun is -26, and the Hubble telescope has seen objects down to 30 
magnitude.

On Wed Sept 15 at 6 AM in Illinois USA you can see:
Venus -4.4 low in the east
Jupiter -2.6 midway in the southwest
Sirius -1.46 low in southeast

Venus is currently rising and will put on a good show in the morning sky.  
Jupiter is currently rising in the evening and is visible most of the 
night, and is close to Saturn (-0.3 mag).  The two make a nice pair.

Historically, Venus was once called the morning star and the evening star. 
At the time they didn't know that these 'stars' were the same object but 
now we know.  

If you wish to know more about where the planets are at any time in the 
night sky you have many options.  You can check out either of the two major 
astronomy magazines -- Astronomy and Sky&Telescope.  Infomation on the 
planets is available in each monthly issue, in their yearly guides and on 
their websites (http://www.skypub.com).  This information can also be 
gathered from most popular astronomy software.  Or perhaps your local 
astronomy club gives out this information.

Best regards,
Brent


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