what planet or star am I seeing?

Question

I live in Western South Carolina and see a very bright "star or planet at about 2:00AM approximately 130 degrees magnetic and perhaps 35 degrees above the horizon.
It seems extremely bright, too bright to be a star, and I cant figure out its identity.
Any help ould be appriciated.
Thanks from,
Captain Jeff

Answer 1

Based on your azimuth estimate, I would have said Venus, but it doesn't rise nearly that high in the sky until much closer to sunrise. As one person said, it could be Sirius. It is the brightest star in the sky. Try to look just before dawn and see if there is a much brighter one rising. This will be Venus,

Comments about some other answers. Venus is not regularly positioned somewhere by any season. It changes every year. You are definitely*not* seeing Mercury. It is always difficult to see and always in the glow of the sunset or sunrise. It is also definitely not the north star. It isn't very bright and certainly wouldn't be in your southeast. And Mars is often seen, unlike what one person said. In fact, right now, it appears quite close to Venus. (No, no, that's Saturn, not Mars! Sorry. Mars is about 30 degrees ahead of them, in Gemini.)

Geoff G, your answer came up while I was writing mine, and yes, you are correct, as I had indicated. Venus does not come up until later. In fact, it will *never* be seen at that altitude at 2:00 am.

Answer 2

Venus is the very bright star rising early in the predawn morning, but at 2:00AM local time it is still below the horizon. Mars is about 35 degrees up by then, at azimuth -99 (true), but that is astronomical azimuth which has zero degrees as South with positive angles toward the West and negative angles toward the East.

Answer 3

Pretty sure that's venus. It's known as the "bright and morning star. It's also visable just around sunset for an hour or 2.
it's one of the brightest stars in the whole sky.
because of it's position close to the sun, that's why it's visable
in the mornings and evenings when the sun is setting and rising.

Answer 4

Quite possibly you could be seeing a closer star or even Venus... remember that the world turns and as it does stars will appear brighter, and the mooner larger or smaller.

If I were you stay up all night and see if you can see where it starts.. itll move, but its probably Venus... Mars doesnt get close enough very often to be seen.

Answer 5

It sounds like you're seeing Sirius. That's about the right location and time for Sirius to be up. To confirm this, look above and to the right. You should see three stars in a row. That would be Orion's Belt.

Answer 6

its not Venus...Venus is visible when the sun is coming out that's why its nick name is "Morning Star"...
Venus = one hour before sunrise, looking east
Mars = one hour before sunrise, looking south
Jupiter = 30 minutes after sunset, looking southwest.
how ever in this week it could be Mars at east or Jupiter at 5° north of the Moon, but they're not "extremely bright"
what you saw was Sirius.

Answer 7

All but one answer so far is wrong! He said he observed it at 2 a.m. Venus doesn't rise until 4 a.m. I set up Starry Night for his location and time, and what he's seeing is the star Sirius. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, and dominates the sky at 2 a.m.

Please, please, PLEASE don't answer technical questions without reading the question carefully and checking whether your answer is correct!

NOT VENUS!!!!!

Answer 8

That definitely is Venus. It is the brightest cellestial body in the northern hemisphere's sky in the fall.

Answer 9

Either Venus or Sirius! :D

Answer 10

venus