Mars ESE 16.00 Today Manchester UK

[zigger]

I am new to Astronomy and wast playing with my new 15 x 70 Celstron Skymaster Binoculars today to get used to focusing etc. I was looking at the moon and some distant planes in the sky when at about 4pm ESE I saw a orange dot in the sky just hovering there. It didn't move so couldn't be a weather balloon or plane or anything like this. I observed it for well over 10 minutes. Could this have been Mars I was looking at? It was very clear! If so I didn't realise it could be seen so well in the day with Binoculars.

Cheers

Z

[Casus belli]

The position sounds about right. I wouldnt be surprised if it was Mars. I've seen both Jupiter and Venus with the naked eye just after midday on a couple of occasions.

Im not sure if you need special conditions or if, with a big pair of bino's you can see mars on any clear day.

A very interesting observation anyway.

[David Galvin]

Well the sky was very clear and transparent at times in Liverpool so I think that you would have seen it. Mars was certainly in that direction at the time and it may be worth trying again, at the same time (minus 4 mins if you want to be more exact ) tomorrow if it is clear. It is more difficult when you have a hazy sky and can struggle to see Venus.