I wish I had a telescope

[Capt. Vulcan]

So I've been jogging at night lately, and I've noticed a particularly bright star in the sky. I'm wondering if it's a planet or not since it looks a little yellow. I've tried looking it up online but I couldn't find anything. It's sort of over the head of the orion constellation, and I see it on the west coast in the early am. Anyone have any idea what it is?

Also I see like two to three falling stars a night, is there a astronomical event going on, or is the cleared smog just giving me an unusually clear view of the sky for a change?

 

[anti-matter]

I see falling stars quite often here in the NE...but I;m always looking up.

...as far as a telescope goes imo there a big pain in the ass we had 2. I'd recommend a good pair of binoculars like a 7x35 but with a zoom.

As far as the bright star at the top of the Orion goes I'll check that out next time it's clear cause I see that one all the time.

Over the years I've seen different planets around that cluster....planets look different their light is fixed while starlight twinkles so they kind of stand out. But to my recollection I've never seen a planet in the top of orion ...it's almost always near the bottom.

 

[BCI]

YourWaysAreQuaint said:
Anyone have any idea what it is?

Mars.

 

[JustAFriend]

There is a FREE program called Stellarium that will turn your computer into a planetarium and tell you what you're seeing in the sky:

http://stellarium.sourceforge.net/
(Works on all platforms)

Can't get any easier....

 

[Brent]

There are two planets we can see with the naked eye easily, Venus and Mars when lit right, Venus is easier to see. So you very much could have been seeing one of them, I would think most likely Venus, it can be pretty bright at times.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

You're seeing Nibiru on its journey into the inner solar system, its so large even at a great distance is can be seen with the naked eye.

 

[BCI]

Brent said:
I would think most likely Venus, it can be pretty bright at times.

The poster said yellow... Mars is bright and orange, and at sunset in the US sits to the top and left of Orion.

 

[M'Sharak]

BCI said:

Brent said:
I would think most likely Venus, it can be pretty bright at times.

The poster said yellow... Mars is bright and orange, and at sunset in the US sits to the top and left of Orion.

Mars also happens today (Dec. 18) to be at its closest proximity for this pass, making it much more easily visible than usual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#2007-2008

The link includes a diagram indicating the position of Mars, relative to Orion.

 

[JPT]

What you could do next time you want to find out more about a certain star you see is use Google Earth! I love the sky setting

 

[aridas sofia]

Also I see like two to three falling stars a night, is there a astronomical event going on, or is the cleared smog just giving me an unusually clear view of the sky for a change?

The Geminid meteor shower peaked a day of so before your question was posted.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

As JustAFriend said, Stellarium is a great programme for stargazing. I use it to help point my telescope when the weather back home permits its use Where I live the sky is often clear enough at night to view the stars, but there's so much sodium glare from street lights. When I get back home to my parents, where there's a nicely sheltered back yard, there are too many clouds

YourWaysAreQuaint said:Also I see like two to three falling stars a night, is there a astronomical event going on, or is the cleared smog just giving me an unusually clear view of the sky for a change?

Keep your eyes on the night sky and you can catch quite a lot. I've even caught a meteor burning up in broad day light, quite a catch. Best one I've seen was a really bright broad streak that split up before disappearing one night, far better than the usual brief smear in the night sky.