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Megan
Skeptic Friend
USA
163 Posts |
 Posted - 07/16/2001 : 23:18:18 [Permalink]
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Hey everyone!! I went to a movie w/ my girlfriends and on the way home I was showing them where Mars was. But then I saw another, brighter star. Could that be Venus? I know that this star couldnt be Mars because by now it would surley be to far away to be that bright. So anyone have any answers for me?
-Megan-
I only do what the voices in my head tell me to do. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 01:09:31 [Permalink]
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Welcome back Megan! 
What time are you seeing this object in the sky? Is it at about 4 am just following the moon? If it is, I'd really like to know what it is also. I haven't had the time to go looking for what it might be. (Work nights now, so I get to see alot of the night sky - all night.)
Well, haven't posted at BABB for a bit. But have kept reading. At least no one is flaming Caity. When they do, you can bet that I will swoop in like a flaming dragon - ready to attack. (OK, you can ignore the little curl of smoke from my nostril.)
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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Zandermann
Skeptic Friend
USA
431 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 04:56:39 [Permalink]
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quote:
... on the way home I was showing them where Mars was. But then I saw another, brighter star. Could that be Venus?
Might be Venus, might be Sirius or another bright star. Where in the sky was it? And when? What color?
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Kristin
Skeptic Friend
Canada
84 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 08:42:20 [Permalink]
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Hey Lisa, Bozola, thanks for the greets :)
My speculations: At first I thought Lisan Al-Gaib was our Brazilian friend in another guise.. but I think not now. However a chronic lurker with a permanently tainted view on anything a north american says is likely a good description.
On Patch and Gauss; seems they're partners or at least friends, this is just conjecture on a few comments Gauss has made. A couple of paranoid eccentrics? Gauss seems more coherant than Patch (she's got a real thing for you, Bozola. Not that I need to tell you that.)
For a while there it seemed like the board was almost... sane :)
Good judgement comes from experience: experience comes from bad judgement. |
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Riftmann
New Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 14:35:24 [Permalink]
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quote:
For a while there it seemed like the board was almost... sane :)
Howdy Kristen and welcome. I've been gone for awhile, silly cable. I'm never gonna get caught up on the BABB. But just looking at it I would have to ask when was it almost sane??? lol
Spoq seems to be posting more ::sigh:: Trying to revive the geocentric arguments again. Has a thing out against Rosen, sheesh.
Looks like we have a couple new nutcases too ::double sigh::
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Megan
Skeptic Friend
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 18:52:28 [Permalink]
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Well this star that I saw was between 9:00 and 9:30 pm my time. It was in the southern sky I think, but it was low. At first I thought that it was Mars b/c it was in the same relative part of the sky. And it was like a whitish bluish color.
quote:
Might be Venus, might be Sirius or another bright star
By the way is Sirius a constilation or something?
-Megan-
I only do what the voices in my head tell me to do. |
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ljbrs
SFN Regular
USA
842 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 21:03:45 [Permalink]
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quote:
By the way is Sirius a constilation or something?
Sirius is a very bright star in the CONSTELLATION Canis Major (the Great Dog) and can be found on February 1 at 10 P.M. (according to one of my sky charts) on the Meridian (an imaginary line running straight down from Polaris (North Star) to the center of the horizon in front of YOU). In this case, you must be looking South. Sirius is very luminous (some 40 times more luminous than the Sun) because it is much nearer than other giant stars (although other stars, such as Deneb, would be much more brilliant if they were viewed from the same distance from the Earth as Sirius). Of course, for that kind of viewing, you need to take very warm clothing if you live in the Northern Hemisphere and happen to look up at 10 P.M. on February 1.
CONSTELLATIONS are groupings of stars on the *Celestial Sphere* which are each at different distances from us, but which make up shapes if you join the dots (stars). They are not the same as an *open cluster* where the stars are at approximately the same distance from us and are a part of a true grouping of stars and other celestial objects.
Go to your public library to find books with star charts in the Astronomy section.
ljbrs
Perfection Is a State of Growth... |
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Zandermann
Skeptic Friend
USA
431 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2001 : 21:22:37 [Permalink]
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quote:
Well this star that I saw was between 9:00 and 9:30 pm my time. It was in the southern sky I think, but it was low. At first I thought that it was Mars b/c it was in the same relative part of the sky. And it was like a whitish bluish color.
My guesses would be Antares, Shaula, or Spica...all three are fairly close to Mars in your sky right now, close to the southern horizon, and all three are fairly bright.
Antares is fairly red, though. Shaula is a little closer to Mars' position right now, I think, so that may be the best bet.
quote:
By the way is Sirius a constilation or something?
Sirius is the brightest star in our sky (besides Sol), but is a winter star (so I mispoke when I said that it might be what you saw).
Keep looking!
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 15:28:11 [Permalink]
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quote:
Well, haven't posted at BABB for a bit. But have kept reading. At least no one is flaming Caity. When they do, you can bet that I will swoop in like a flaming dragon - ready to attack. (OK, you can ignore the little curl of smoke from my nostril.)
I don't think you have too much to worry about. Even the most whacked out of the BABB resident trolls should realize what would happen if a child was flamed. BA would have to change the board's name to "Full Contact Astronomy", for starters.
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 15:48:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
quote:
Well, haven't posted at BABB for a bit. But have kept reading. At least no one is flaming Caity. When they do, you can bet that I will swoop in like a flaming dragon - ready to attack. (OK, you can ignore the little curl of smoke from my nostril.)
I don't think you have too much to worry about. Even the most whacked out of the BABB resident trolls should realize what would happen if a child was flamed. BA would have to change the board's name to "Full Contact Astronomy", for starters.
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done
No three second rule, either. Or Queen of Marksbury rules.
Edited by - Valiant Dancer on 07/18/2001 15:49:20 |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 16:28:55 [Permalink]
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quote:
BA would have to change the board's name to "Full Contact Astronomy", for starters.
No three second rule, either. Or Queen of Marksbury rules.
Nice to know she will be so well defended. Thanks all.
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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ljbrs
SFN Regular
USA
842 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 19:39:00 [Permalink]
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The best way to handle bitchy ad hominem/womanem posts is to ignore them and their authors. What the authors want is to annoy everybody. Not giving them that pleasure goes against their self images (which ought to be pretty lousy if they are truly bitchy).
ljbrs
Perfection Is a State of Growth... |
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The Bad Astronomer
Skeptic Friend
137 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 21:47:55 [Permalink]
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quote:
Hey everyone!! I went to a movie w/ my girlfriends and on the way home I was showing them where Mars was. But then I saw another, brighter star.
Note the word "brighter". At the moment, Mars is the brightest starlike object in the sky, far far brighter than anything nearby. Antares is the brightest nearby star, and pales in comparison.
Given that Mars is low in the sky for most people north of the Equator, I suspect you saw an airplane. Really! If it is headed right at you, it can appear to be stationary for several minutes due to perspective. I was once fooled by a plane this way; ironically, I thought it was Mars! The plane looked stationary for at least three minutes; it was almost on the horizon and passed directly overhead some time later. The illusion was very convincing.
*****
The Bad Astronomer
badastro@badastronomy.com
http://www.badastronomy.com
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Zandermann
Skeptic Friend
USA
431 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 21:59:16 [Permalink]
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of course...an airplane...I should have thought of that myself; I've been fooled by enough planes in my stargazing!
...especially since the object was 'just glanced', rather than tracked for an appreciable amount of time.
Edited by - Zandermann on 07/18/2001 22:02:33 |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2001 : 22:31:33 [Permalink]
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quote:
I suspect you saw an airplane.
The thing I've been seeing in the early am appears brighter than Mars, however, I've seen it for the past two weeks or so. It comes up around 3 am and is visible until the sun rises. So what am I seeing then? It's not Mars - Mars has usually set by then.
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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