It's been too long since my undergrad Astronomy class, so I don't remember if this stuff is relevant: I'm viewing from the Midwest USA, at about 5:30 a.m. I am thinking that thing is too bright to be a star, and it has been visible for days. It seems to me to be moving from right between the legs to just right of Orion's right leg (right as you're looking at him, not "his" right).
2006-09-29 07:55:57 · 7 answers · asked by ? 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
No planet could be that far below the ecliptic (the path the Sun travels against the stars, and the line the planets are always near since the solar system is flat).
I must admit I'm stumped, and I'm usually good at figuring these things out! My first thought was satellite or irridium flare, but you said it's been visible for days. The fact that it moved over the course of several days puzzles me.
2006-09-29 08:15:54 · answer #1 · answered by kris 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No planet is in Orion or any of his immediate Zodiacal neighboring constellations at the moment. The nearest planet to that part of the sky is Saturn, which is moving from Cancer to Leo. It isn't anywhere around Orion's feet, which, by the way, is well off the ecliptic and planets don't go that far south anyway. Maybe you've discovered a nova, but a nova wouldn't move with respect to the star field.
2006-09-29 08:57:00 · answer #2 · answered by David S 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rigel (Beta Orionis) is the 7th brightest star with a visual magnitude of 0.12. It is Orion's left foot, Are you confusing it with a planet?
The star's name comes from its location at the "left foot" of Orion. It is a contraction of "Rijl Jauza al-Yusra", this being Arabic for "left foot of the Central One".
Rigel is a triple star. The main star Rigel A of spectral type B8 is orbited by a binary system, Rigel B and C, which orbit one another closely at 28 AU and in turn orbit around Rigel as a unit, at a distance of about 2000 AU. The stars are similar, both belonging to the spectral class B9V. Rigel B is more massive, with a mass 2.5 times solar versus 1.9 solar mass of Rigel C.
B-type stars are bluish large and hot, Rigel A is a B8 supergiant, and shines with approximately 40,000 times the luminosity of the Sun.
2006-09-29 08:16:18 · answer #3 · answered by Hitchmoughs_Guide _2 _The_Galaxy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
None. Saturn is the closest planet to Orion now and it is 45 degrees east of Orion. I don't know what you are seeing, but it either isn't a planet or you aren't recognizing Orion.
2006-09-29 08:04:06 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Binoculars may show another planet near the Moon if the sky is very clear at ... Betelgeuse,
2006-09-29 07:58:58 · answer #5 · answered by Sarah P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. Try this link: http://www.stellarium.org/ Great program!
2006-09-29 07:57:41 · answer #6 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
youranius
2006-09-29 07:57:52 · answer #7 · answered by Knight H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋