I am looking in the sky from the UK and i cannot tell what i am looking at, what might it be, is it a planet?

Question

I am new to astronomy. I found Orion, now higher and to left of Beteguese there is a bright orange star/planet, i cannot see it twinkling. What is it?

Answer 1

That's Mars! Cool, huh?

It's in Gemini, right now, with Castor and Pollux just north of it. Watch how it changes position over the next several months.

Answer 2

It's Mars, now on the constellation Gemini(the twins)

Here are some facts that might interest you:

Orion is near the Ecliptic, the imaginary line or belt that marks the path of the sun and planets among the sky. The ecliptic is marked by twelve constellations, known as the Zodiac (technically its thirteen; i do not know why they did not include the thirteenth. its called the Opiuchus , positioned in between the constellation Scorpius and Sagittarius). Going back, Orion is situated, just below the Zodiac signs Gemini and Taurus ( just check on any good ol' star chart). currently it is at Gemini.

Answer 3

Probably the planet Mars-------- it is currently rising from the East a little after dark. By January it will be well up the sky after dark.

AND-------- the three stars lined up in Orion is Orion (the Hunter's) sword. The center "star" is not actually a star but a nebula cloud star nursery --------- with newborn stars inside. In binoculars you can see the cloud------ in a small telescope you can see the "baby" stars only several million years old.

Answer 4

At the moment you should be looking at Mars if it is a planet

A good resourse is the new Google Earth as it can show you details of the stars and planets above your current position

Answer 5

VERY GOOD! That is Mars. Planets don't twinkle. Stars twinkle.

Answer 6

When you see the stars, they are like our sun. Our sun is a star, so if you were looking in the night sky on a distant planet, one of the stars would probably be sol, our sun.

Answer 7

Santa clause comes through the UK every year to try out his new GPS navigation system. I hear he has installed flashing lights just like planes as the law in a few country has forced him to do so for safety claiming "he is not above the law" and "if planes need to have it, so does his sleigh".

Answer 8

i could surely recommend a liquid crystal reveal flat-panel, yet in case you are able to get one larger than 32". i imagine 37" must be the minimum to get the completed earnings of HDTV. bear in concepts, HDTV is widescreen, and for an similar diagonal length a widescreen image will look smaller than the "sq." image of older television. Your 32" HDTV could have an similar height as a 27" favourite television. A 37" HDTV could have an similar image height as a 30" regulart television.

Answer 9

It is likely to be Jupiter.If you have a telescope or binoculars Jupiter will appear large (ish) and you may see 4 smaller stars very near to it. These are the largest satellites of Jupiter.

Answer 10

stars do not twinkle , it is clouds moving in front makes you think that