Is this a planet? or something else?

Question

Recently, on some nights there is a yellowish light visible in the western sky at night. It seems a bit bright to be a star, or possibly too close to the Earth.

I live close to Gulf Shores, Alabama, if that helps. The object is not visible every night. I haven't studied it in length, but it is visible shortly after the sky is completely dark and the stars become visible.

It is no longer to be found when I go out again (usually after 10-11 PM). I thought it might be a planet, because it doesn't appear to move.

Answer 1

You saw Venus, the brightest object in our sky after the Sun and Moon.

Unlike most stars which are best visible in total darkness, Venus is best seen just before dawn or just after dusk, when Venus is still receiving light to reflect and be seen on Earth.

Answer 2

It can't be Venus after 10 or 11 PM. Venus is closer to the sun than the Earth, so it is only visible in the early morning and early evening. This is a link to a site where you can type in your location in latitude and longitude and it will show you what the sky should look like and the positions of all the planets.

http://skychart.skytonight.com/observing/skychart/skychart.asp

You may have to follow additional links to get this to work, but when you see a star map, you're most of the way there. You'll have to change your location and store it, then enter the time of day you'll be looking at the sky.

Answer 3

Venus is the bright star visible in the west just after sunset. Venus sets a few hours after the Sun, so you wouldn't see it at 11:00 PM. I think it looks blue-white, but maybe there is enough haze or smog in your area to make it look yellowish. It will be visible this way until mid summer after which it will pass in front of the Sun and be lost in the glare for a few months, after which it will be visible in the east just before sunrise.

Answer 4

Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon.

It is visible most of the time in either morning or evening twilight skies.

So, it always astounds me that people live for years, and one day suddenly "discover" it.

It is like all those people who come on here saying they have seen the moon in daylight. Wow! the moon is visible in daylight for a good 9-10 days of every month of every year of one's life.

Sadly we live in a modern world where people hardly ever look in the sky. No wonder we get so many reports of UFOs - people just do nto know what they are looking at.

Answer 5

Probably Venus