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Mystery star in the sky

Doftheg

By Doftheg
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Doftheg

Doftheg

Posted
Posted

Hi I'm new,

I'm on this forum because I have a question. I live in Amsterdam and I walk my dog every night at 19.45. To the west is a very bright star, so bright it eclipses any other star in the sky.

It's in the same place every night and never moves. Can anyone tell me what this mystery light in the sky is?

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barkis

barkis

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Yes, Venus it is and does shine very brightly. If you observe it in a good telescope you will see a Crescent rather than a disc. This is due to the position of the planet in it's orbit around the sun. Only a portion of the planet being illuminated. Much like the moon I  it's monthly trek around the earth. It starts as a thin  Crescent, and evolves into a full. Moon as more of it is exposed to the sun. It then recedes to a Crescent in the same way, as it's orbit progresses to where less sunlight strikes the surface. The process is described as the phases of the moon.  Forgive the long explanation, especially if you already knew this  :icon_biggrin:

 

   

 

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Stu

Stu

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10 minutes ago, Doftheg said:

OK so here's another question. Why doesn't it move? We're spinning but it's always there.

It does move! At the moment it is trailing the sun in its orbit so sets after the sun does, in a week or so it will be setting much nearer the time the sun does so will be harder to see. Next, it will be rising in the morning before the sun does :) 

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kiloran

kiloran

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50 minutes ago, Doftheg said:

OK so here's another question. Why doesn't it move? We're spinning but it's always there.

It does - if you watch it for an hour or so it will set towards the horizon, just like the sun does. If you go to a darker area you may also see a fainter and smaller Mars trailing behind it - also in the evening sky. And early in the morning at the moment in the south you can see Jupiter. Look at that with even a pair of binoculars and you'll see 4 moons - including Europa with it's ice crust and liquid planet-wide ocean.

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kiloran

kiloran

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You should see Venus set around 20:30 Amsterdam time. And Jupiter rises around 21:30 almost due East. It is tracked very closely by a very bright star called Spica which is an impressive sight. When I started observing just after Christmas I was lucky to see Spica, Jupiter, and the International Space Station really close together in the morning sky - my first "wow" moment.

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barkis

barkis

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Doftheg,  to understand the working of the Solar System, try and locate a working 'Orrery'  online. Try Google to do a search. An Orrery is  a working model showing the Planets in a scaled down version of the real Solar System.                 You will get a good representation of how the Planets revolve around the sun.    It is the enormous gravitational effect of the sun, that holds them all in it's  grasp. 

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ronin

ronin

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If the sky is suitably dark enough in your bit of Amsterdam then also take a careful look sort of above and left of Venus, you may manages to make out a small dim red disk, that is Mars. Worth trying to see it as that will soon be out of our sight on the wrong side of the sun.

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

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4 hours ago, Stu said:

It does move! At the moment it is trailing the sun in its orbit so sets after the sun does, in a week or so it will be setting much nearer the time the sun does so will be harder to see. Next, it will be rising in the morning before the sun does :) 

Another name for Venus when it's visible in the evenings is the Evening Star. When it rises before the Sun, it's been known as the Morning Star. 

Venus is also the Goddess of Love,

Dave

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popeye85

popeye85

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12 hours ago, ronin said:

you may manages to make out a small dim red disk, that is Mars. Worth trying to see it as that will soon be out of our sight on the wrong side of the sun.

Of course the really strange fact to get your head around when you see both of them next to each other in the sky is the fact that Venus is closer to the sun then we are but Mars is further away;-we are basically between the two planets you can see-it's all about perspective!

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Dofteg and welcome to SGL, Your question has been duly answered. Stay with us and enjoy our company, the night sky will pose many more questions, but be careful, it can become an addictive hobby and it may not be too long before you are considering the purchase of a pair of binoculars or telescope, enjoy :)

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JOC

JOC

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Welcome to SGL there is much to learn here.  Venus is quite spectacular at the moment.  Even if you don't have proper astronomy binoculars you could even try some general bird watching type ones.  Rest them on a post and see what you can see (don't use them anywhere near the sun though once it comes up).  Download Stellarium (free) to a mobile phone or computer and that will show you what you can see at your location.

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