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The star is twinkling in various colors.

2007-01-25 13:49:35 · 17 answers · asked by John 2 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

17 answers

You're probably talking about Sirius. It's the brightest star we can see, and it shines in the SE sky in the early evening. To be sure it's Sirius, there is a simple way to tell. The famous three stars in Orion's belt draw a line towards Sirius. Sirius actually represents Orion's faithful dog. Sirius satellite radio, incidentally, uses a dog as a logo.

Venus -- when it's visible -- is even brighter. In the evening, you'll find Venus in the west. In the morning, Venus is in the east. Think about why that could be. Venus is closer to the sun than Earth. Therefore, when you look at Venus, you have to look toward the sun (West at sunset and East at sunrise). That's why Venus is only visible for a short period after sunset and before sunrise.

2007-01-25 13:54:41 · answer #1 · answered by Intrepyd 5 · 5 0

The people saying it is Venus are totally incorrect. It is true that Venus is visible this time of year and is the brightest celestial object in the sky after the moon, but it does NOT appear in the southeast. It appears in the west. The star in the southeast is Sirius, the visibly brightest star in our sky.

The reason it is flickering so many colors has nothing to do with collapsing into a white dwarf or anything. Sirius is a main sequence star of the spectral type A1V. It flashes so many colors due to atmospheric refraction. When it is low on the horizon such as after it has recently risen, it is passing through a lot of atmosphere, and if it's especially turbulent, this can cause the really flashy flickering you see.

2007-01-25 15:47:59 · answer #2 · answered by Arkalius 5 · 0 0

It must be the star Sirius. It's the brighest star except for the planets. Planets don't twinkle because the atmosphere doesn't distort them as much (because their apparent size is much larger than distant stars). Sirus always twinkles in different colors, because of its a brightness and it's a star. It also happens to be in the south eastern sky right now. Venus appears in the west just after sunset at this time.

2007-01-25 14:21:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

Well depending on what time is it when the star is in the sky and the fact that Venus doesnt twinkle since the distance its light travels is shorter compared to the other stars it would have to be Sirius the dog star.

2007-01-25 14:01:27 · answer #4 · answered by afrprince77 2 · 1 0

If it's Southeast, it's Sirius. It will be close to the lower left corner (looking South) of the Orion "hourglass".

Saturn is farther up and East and isn't very impressive yet. Venus is very low in the Southwest only at sunset. The other eyeball planets aren't in a good position for observing.

2007-01-25 19:04:09 · answer #5 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0 0

In the evening sky, the planet Venus can never be in the eastern sky as its path takes it always closer to that of the setting sun. What you are seeing is the star Sirius shimmering in the turbulence of Earth's atmosphere as it rise above the horizon in the east and as it gets higher in the sky, it becomes seemingly brighter and more clear as there is not as much atmosphere for its light to travel through.

What you also will be seeing is another brighter object rising. That will be the planet Saturn coming up above the horizon, and it will be climbing higher in the sky as the night progresses.

2007-01-25 14:11:43 · answer #6 · answered by Shaula 7 · 2 0

It is venus the planet. In the east 2 to 3 hours it's bright and the west around sunset 2 to 3 hours bright twinkle like.

2007-01-25 14:37:49 · answer #7 · answered by Mizar 1 · 0 1

Venus

2007-01-25 14:04:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

I saw one too. It was extremely bright and the only one in the sky. I was thinking it was a planet, maybe Venus since Mars would appear more reddish.

2007-01-25 13:58:17 · answer #9 · answered by Becca 3 · 0 0

i could think of it could be Jupiter. best planet interior the image voltaic gadget. the area sounds top. Venus in many circumstances helps dominate the morning starscape, yet i do no longer think of this is been that dominant at present and interior the night it could be under the horizon.

2016-11-01 07:46:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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