Jupiter & Venus Or Double Star?

[Texas Star]

It's a bit past 12:30AM here and I just went out and saw almost overhead what looks like a double star, like I'd see through a binocular. Is this Jupiter and Venus?

I saw the topic here with the photos of them about 3 degrees apart earlier this week.

Are those planets THAT close now, or did I see something else?

Oh: i'm on Central time.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Being a night person I've been keeping an eye on that duo for over a week now and also, like you, heard something about those two Planets earlier this week so I'm assuming that's what those are.

 

[Beemerguy53]

I'm pretty sure those are Venus and Jupiter, with the former appearing larger and brighter.

Beautiful, aren't they?

 

[Texas Star]

I'm pretty sure those are Venus and Jupiter, with the former appearing larger and brighter.

Beautiful, aren't they?

Definitely! I used to seek out doubles with binoculars. They're really lovely and the colors sometimes vary, too.

But this is the closest that I've seen planets.

 

[old bear]

Yes, it's Jupiter and Venus. If I remember correctly they will be this close for several month and both will be low in the early night sky. Last week when the moon was full it was a site to see the three of them so close together.

 

[LVSteve]

Jupiter and Venus were in the Western sky at dusk and below the horizon at 12:30. Mars would have been pretty high at that time, but is a single reddish blob.

 

[geoff40]

The overhead thing throws me off. That doesn't seem right for 12:30 Central. Venus would be the brightest object in your sky, but I expect it would be set or nearly so, in the west, by 12:30pm.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Well, Mrs. Oldflatfoot has been observing the night sky for the past week and was wondering about those two brilliant lights. Now, thanks to you fellers', I can pretend that I'm brilliant too, when I tell her what she's been watching. She actually bugged me last night and forced me to get off the couch and take a look....it was worth the trouble, very beautiful!

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[LVSteve]

This is how Venus and Jupiter looked on the 13th, the night of their conjunction. This is as close as they got. This shot was taken at 7:36pm in Las Vegas looking West across the street where I live. There is no way these objects could be overhead the Central time zone at 1230am.

My money is still on Mars as it is quite bright right now. We were the closest we will get this year at the beginning of the month. It was also too early for Saturn to be high in the sky.

 

[K.38]

The planets have been beautiful to see lately. I live out in the boonies and when they are at the brightest they are in between two mountains to the west of us. It is quite the sight.

 

[Stevens]

I've been seeing them for a couple of weeks, if you have a smart phone you can get an app which allows you to point your phone at an area of the sky and it will identify the stars, planets, and constellations in that area. For the Iphone I have the app called "Night Sky" it is amazing, and free if I remember right..
Steve W

 

[Cyrano]

Even with binoculars, you should be able to see the four Gallilean moons of Jupiter, unless one or more of them is obscured by the planet itself. Their position changes from day to day, so the arangement today won't look like that tomorrow.

 

[Hobie1]

TEOTWAWKI...or something like that.
We got a very nice look at that conjunction tonight.

As a side note, we bought our grand-baby a telescope for Christmas and had fun looking at the sky. She's 9 and fascinated with all things science. I love showing her things on the 'net that are science related. "Papa what's that?" Well 'tater, that's.....

Hobie

 

[David LaPell]

It's either God mooning Obama or the planets lining up so that the folks thinking the world will end in December can say "See I told you!"

 

[Texas Star]

Steve-

What I saw so late at night looked much closer than your photo,which is why I described it as looking like a big double star.

Although much larger and easily visible to the naked eye, they were about as close as the double in the tail of Scorpio, for instance. I need a binocular for that.

I agree that Venus and Jupiter were below the horizon that late. What WAS up there is a good question.

 

[PA Reb]

Hey all ~ If you haven't done so yet, download and use Stellarium. Set it for your personal location and away you go. It will show you how the sky looks where you're at any time of the day or night. It will also track satellites for you. Very useful!

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Hey all ~ If you haven't done so yet, download and use Stellarium. Set it for your personal location and away you go. It will show you how the sky looks where you're at any time of the day or night. It will also track satellites for you. Very useful!

Wow! Thanks for posting that link. The software is incredible. I watched last night and again early this morning. After you enter your longitude and latitude, you see the actual sky from your position and watch it all in real time. It's like having a planeterium at home.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[PA Reb]

Wow! Thanks for posting that link. The software is incredible. I watched last night and again early this morning. After you enter your longitude and latitude, you see the actual sky from your position and watch it all in real time. It's like having a planeterium at home.

Cheers;
Lefty

Not wishing to detract from the OP's thread but, you're welcome. My family and I have been observing the universe for many years now using our 4" refractor and 12" reflector scopes. If you and your wife like what you see with binoculars or the naked eye that much, think about a good quality telescope for your viewing pleasure. There's nothing in "this world" like it !

 

[LouisianaJoe]

You can look at a free pdf sky chart here:
Skymaps.com - Publication Quality Sky Maps & Star Charts