Unexplained Sight: A Mysterious Star in the Night Sky | Discover the Truth

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the observation of a bright object in the night sky, with participants speculating on its identity. The scope includes personal observations, potential explanations, and various hypotheses regarding celestial bodies such as stars, planets, and satellites.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes seeing a bright, stationary object in the sky, initially thinking it was an airplane, but concluding it was likely a star or satellite.
  • Another participant suggests that the bright object could be Venus, noting its brightness in the evening sky.
  • Some participants argue that the object could not be Mars or Venus due to its brightness, suggesting it is something unusual.
  • A later reply mentions the possibility of the object being Sirius, the brightest star, and discusses its visibility and characteristics.
  • One participant expresses doubt about the object being a star, proposing it might be a space shuttle, noting its brightness and slow movement.
  • Another participant explains that flickering and color changes in celestial objects can occur due to atmospheric conditions.
  • Some participants question the identification of the object, discussing the need for tools or software to determine what stars or planets are visible at a given time and location.
  • There are mentions of other locations observing similar bright objects, raising questions about whether they are the same or different phenomena.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the identity of the bright object, with no consensus reached on what it actually is. The discussion remains unresolved with various hypotheses presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific celestial events and conditions, but there are limitations in the observations due to personal experiences and varying locations. Some assumptions about visibility and identification of celestial objects are not fully explored.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in astronomy, casual stargazers, and those curious about identifying celestial objects in the night sky may find this discussion relevant.

lwymarie
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Tonight when i wander in the street, I looked up to the sky and saw a very bright thing. I thought it was an aeroplane. However, it did not move. I had observed it for about 10 minutes, and it did not change its position. It was still. So i thought it was a strange star. then I chased the star. But the star 'ran away' as I ran to it. It was just like the case when you chased the moon, it ran away from you always when you wanted to chase it. Therefore I further concluded that it could not be an aeroplane because aeroplane was near us, so we could eventually chase up an aeroplane.
What would be that strange star? Perhaps it was just a satellite or sth ordinary.I don't know. I am just a kid. Please forgive my ignorance and answer me :)
 
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lwymarie said:
Tonight when i wander in the street, I looked up to the sky and saw a very bright thing. I thought it was an aeroplane. However, it did not move. I had observed it for about 10 minutes, and it did not change its position. It was still. So i thought it was a strange star. then I chased the star. But the star 'ran away' as I ran to it. It was just like the case when you chased the moon, it ran away from you always when you wanted to chase it. Therefore I further concluded that it could not be an aeroplane because aeroplane was near us, so we could eventually chase up an aeroplane.
What would be that strange star? Perhaps it was just a satellite or sth ordinary.I don't know. I am just a kid. Please forgive my ignorance and answer me :)
If it was a star, then it probably moved a bit in those 10 minutes but its hard to see it move. The next time you see one, don't chase it. Instead, line it up by sight with some stationary object like the roof of a house. After 10 minutes or so, you will see that it doesn't line up anymore. If it is an airplane, you will see it move within a few seconds.
 
My guess would be Venus, it is very bright in the SW in the evening.
 
Depends on which direction he was looking. As of last night, Mars was magnitude -2.2 and well above the horizon almost straight east. Venus is mag. -4.2 in the western sky. I suppose it could have been either, but Venus is brighter.
 
[edit] Mars is rising at sunset and veus is setting - so about an hour after sunset or later, it can only be Mars.
 
Last edited:
No, it is too bright to be Mars or Venus. It is too bright to be a star. That's why I think it is strange.

Other than air transports, I have never seen such a bright thing.
 
lwymarie said:
No, it is too bright to be Mars or Venus. It is too bright to be a star. That's why I think it is strange.

Other than air transports, I have never seen such a bright thing.
Do you think it was a alien?:approve: :bugeye:
Do you live by any kind of airport?
 
lwymarie said:
No, it is too bright to be Mars or Venus. It is too bright to be a star. That's why I think it is strange.

Other than air transports, I have never seen such a bright thing.
Would you know Mars or Venus if you saw them? Mars is more than twice as bright as the brightest star in the sky and Venus about 15x as bright.
 
russ_watters said:
[edit] Mars is rising at sunset and veus is setting - so about an hour after sunset or later, it can only be Mars.

From Hong Kong, Venus doesn't set until about three hours after sunset.
 
  • #10
Los Angeles, Ca – 11:45pm Nov 14 2008 – still going. A very strange, bright star. I thought It was a plane at first, just shining bright, oddly bright. I think I see some blue, flicker of red, and it flickers. It is still. Ten mins now and still there. Sooo bright. Eastern skies. South eastern maybe? It is sure STILL and brighter than any star I have ever seen. It reminded me of a helicopter maybe? But it is too far away for a plane or helicopter to be shining that bright. Any input?
 
  • #11
Welcome to PF.

Sirius, by far the brightest star in the sky, rises in the southeast at around 10:00. By 11:45, it would be about 20 degrees in altitude. With polluted or turbulent skies, it would still flicker and change color noticeably at that altitude, but it is a blue star. Can you recognize the constellation Orion? It is characterized by 3 relatively bright stars forming his belt. Sirius below him right now.
 
  • #12
Hey thanks, I thought it could be a star, but I still have my doubts. I think it may have been the shuttle launched at around 8pm EST. if it was, I think it was strange I was able to view it and mark it as the brightest light in the sky (aside from the moon) at 11:30pm – 12:20am PST. Hey at least our astronauts will be able to drink their own urine now… how smart are we? But the main reason I have my doubts is I have never seen Sirius shine that bright and flicker red. Also, the star/shining object actually did move, just very slowly. Much slower than a satellite even. Is it possible that I may have been viewing the shuttle?
 
  • #13
No, If anything a shuttle would be moving faster than satellites unless it was in a geosynchronous orbit.

Anything can flicker and change colours depending on the amount of particles the photons are having to get through, At low angles things will theoretically appear more red than say a light source straight above you at 90 degrees to the earth.

This is why the clouds in a sunset are red/orange, Because the photons get 'slowed' down by the particles in the atmosphere because they are at a low angle to the earth.
 
  • #14
notrandom said:
I think it may have been the shuttle launched at around 8pm EST. if it was, I think it was strange I was able to view it and mark it as the brightest light in the sky (aside from the moon) at 11:30pm – 12:20am PST.
Also, the star/shining object actually did move, just very slowly. Much slower than a satellite even. Is it possible that I may have been viewing the shuttle?
The shuttle only takes about 10 minutes to get to orbit and flies east, depending on the particulars of the orbit it is going to. It is pretty rare that it flies north enough for anyone else besides those in Florida to see it. It's a spectacular sight, but you couldn't have seen it from California. And when it's in orbit, it looks like a very bright satellite, traversing the entire sky in just a few minutes.

Anyway, you'll get more chances to see it if it was Sirius...
 
  • #15
It's Jan.2, 2011 and I can see that same star here in Vancouver, BC. I agree with you- it's not Mars or venus or even a star. It's intense and I never noticed it before tonight. Could it be from a light source much closer than the planets? (ie. a mothership or an experiment in orbit the public doesn;t know about?)
 
  • #16
so interesting! if it were a planet or any Luminary it should be visible every where in the world and because others haven't seen it, it would be sth in your country.
 
  • #17
jagzdad said:
It's Jan.2, 2011 and I can see that same star here in Vancouver, BC.

How do you know it is the same?
 
  • #18
Hey guys,

how do I know what star I'm seeing at ?

how am I going to differentiate if its a star or a planet in our solar system ?

how to know if I'm currently watching Venus ?

------

I have been watching a start shining brightly in the night time at about 22:00 local time. I live in Mauritius, found in Indian Ocean near Madagascar. It was shining at east and there was no other stars near it ( viewing from naked eye ).
 
  • #19
There are programs that will draw a map of a sky for you, you just need to enter time and position. Quick googling for a free software reveals SkyChart at http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/start but I am sure there are more. There are also commercial products, like StarryNight used by one of the PF regulars.
 
  • #20
I was curious, so I took a look - the closest thing I see is Spica, but it rises an hour later. Or possibly Sirius, though it is pretty high by 2200. There aren't any extremely bright stars or planets in the eastern sky in Madagascar in the evening right now.
 
  • #21
Oh sorry, the one which I was looking at is in the west or south west.

but there are 2 bright stars in the east also. ( not that bright ).
 

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