Picturing the moon
Discussion
Ok, I've been taking pictures of the moon over the last weeks and would like to know what the very bright star looking SE about 20 degrees up. The moon goes over it as it moves across the sky. I've tried googling but I'm not getting very far! Thought my picturing chums might know! I suspect it's one of our planets?
Simpo Two said:
The brightest planet is Venus.
Yup, strangely enough we were discussing this tonight on the way back from dinner...Venus is quite often known as an evening or morning star as it kinda stays pretty low to the horizon compared to most of the other stuff out there - and at present it's pretty damn bright (helped by the massive amount of clouds it has).
Lambochick said:
Whilst Venus is indeed a bright 'star', it will usually be seen close to the horizon just before or just after sunrise/sunset. This is because the orbit of Venus lies inside that of the Earth.
It is, but is that any reason for staying close to the horizon? Orbits can be at right-angles!I don't know of any planets in our solar system that has an orbit at 90 degrees to all the other planets.
From our viewpoint on Earth, the orbit of Venus is relatively close to the sun, and you can only see it when it's orbit places it to the left or right of the sun. Because of this, you can only see it when the sun itself is below the horizon, and not overpowering it, which also means that Venus has just come up or is just about to set. For this reason, it is always quite close to the horizon.
From our viewpoint on Earth, the orbit of Venus is relatively close to the sun, and you can only see it when it's orbit places it to the left or right of the sun. Because of this, you can only see it when the sun itself is below the horizon, and not overpowering it, which also means that Venus has just come up or is just about to set. For this reason, it is always quite close to the horizon.
Edited by Lambochick on Tuesday 31st August 22:39
Lambochick said:
I don't know of any planets in our solar system that has an orbit at 90 degrees to all the other planets.
There aren't, but the reason you gave, namely 'this is because the orbit of Venus lies inside that of the Earth' doesn't explain your statement 'it will usually be seen close to the horizon just before or just after sunrise/sunset'.ETA: I think!
Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 31st August 22:43
'There's that nutter Fordo with his head in a dustbin again' said the neighbours pityingly, whilst shooing their children from the window.
Actually if you make a few small holes in the bottom of a bin and stick it over your head in daylight, you've got astronomy at any time of day! 'Why wait hours until night-time to see your favourite stars, only to find there's cloud blocking your view? The Simpo 24-hour Mobile Astrobin (TM) is totally independent of weather and time of day. Just pop it over your head and see all the stars whenever you like through the computer-aligned holes in the bottom. Amaze your friends as they hear your muffled voice saying 'I can see The Plough!'. Yes, true portable 24/7 astronomy is here!'
Actually if you make a few small holes in the bottom of a bin and stick it over your head in daylight, you've got astronomy at any time of day! 'Why wait hours until night-time to see your favourite stars, only to find there's cloud blocking your view? The Simpo 24-hour Mobile Astrobin (TM) is totally independent of weather and time of day. Just pop it over your head and see all the stars whenever you like through the computer-aligned holes in the bottom. Amaze your friends as they hear your muffled voice saying 'I can see The Plough!'. Yes, true portable 24/7 astronomy is here!'
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 2nd September 09:37
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