what did I see?

[leo82]

Hi all,

I'm new to this hobby so please bear with me.

I left for work this morning at 6am and looked up at the sky. It was still dark and there were no visible stars. To my right there was the moon but to the left were 2 bright objects, one under the other and slightly off centre. Were these venus and jupiter?

I would appreciate any replies you may have.

[valleyman]

If they where towards the East then yes it was Jupiter and Venus also with Mars very close to them too.

If you don't have it already then download Stellarium. It is a real time Sky atlas and the good news is it is Free.

Pat

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Those most have been Venus and Jupiter, indeed

[Mr Spock]

Quite a lovely sight aren't they

[leo82]

Thanks for the reply Valleyman.

Yes the planets were to the east. I didnt see mars but I only observed with the naked eye and I live in a built up area so I guess light pollution probably didnt help. Would I be right in thinking mars isn't a bright planet and was easily missed due to this?

[leo82]

PS cant believe the first time I looked up at the sky (with interest) I saw 2 planets!

[leo82]

@mrspock & Michael I guess they are only a glimpse of whats out there, buts its great even just to see the bright spots actually knowing what they are.

@Valleyman thanks for the stellarium info. I will check that out now.

[rockystar]

Yes the planets were to the east. I didnt see mars but I only observed with the naked eye and I live in a built up area so I guess light pollution probably didnt help. Would I be right in thinking mars isn't a bright planet and was easily missed due to this?

Yes, Mars is quite dim at the moment. It's also lower in the sky then Jupiter & Venus, so is going to get washed out by the dawn twilight at 6am - If you should happen to be up at 5, you will probably be able to make out Mars, even under you LP you can see it with Naked Eye. 

[leo82]

@rockystar I get up at 5am. While i'm drinking my morning coffee I shall go outside and take a look for mars, it will be nice to see another planet and take my tally up to 3! At this rate i'm gonna need some optics sooner rather than later.

Ps is mars directly under venus and jupiter but lower in the sky?

[Peter Drew]

You're standing on the 4th.  

[rockystar]

Get Stellarium installed, set it to 5am tomorrow morning and it will show you where to look for mars.

I haven't seen any planets for quite a few days now (Sunday morning looking best for me), but I think if you draw a line from Venus to Jupiter (these are about to swap position, so it may now be the other way round) and extend it towards the horizon, you should see a little red dot not too far from the lowest planet.

[leo82]

Grrr the sky is full of clouds this morning. I guess this is a

great frustration of this hobby.

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's Stellarium as people have suggested you check out. It's free! This be my "copy & paste" rendition to get you started:

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Stellarium is what is called a planetarium program. You start by setting it to your location, and it will show you a very realistic representation of the night sky - complete with any and all objects up there you choose to include. The instructions are quite large. Setting it up can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 days. It's up to you. Similar programs can run you £200. But Stellarium is totally free. And away we go:

 

http://www.stellarium.org/
 
As for instructions, the most current one's are posted in Wiki due to their being new features & functions being created almost daily. There is also a Pdf. that's almost up-to-date. Here's the Wiki-Link:
 
http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Stellarium_User_Guide
 
And the Pdf. is here:
 
http://barry.sarcasmogerdes.com/stellarium/stellarium_user_guide-new.pdf

I also leave you with a screenshot of my edition at the end.
 

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Congratulations on your first good look at the early-morning sky! You have excellent timing.

Clear skies,

Dave