Ancient people how concluded that all glowing objects in the sky aren't star.
For me I always thought comets are fast moving stars with a tail,
planets also looked like star with a fix time schedule?
Is there any clue, which is noticeable to my bare eyes, that differentiates a star from other heavenly bodies in one gaze.
Please also tell me a method so that I can identify planets in night sky..
Thank you for your time.
2007-12-18 21:33:48 · 6 answers · asked by Fantail Flycatcher 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Pretty much all of the previous answers have explained this but you need to put it all together in order to see it with your own eyes.
The observations happen over time an not in just one night. Try to go out and look at the sky one night per week---like every Monday night at the same time--like 9:00pm. On the first night locate a planet. If you do this now, I would choose Mars because it is the prominate planet in the sky but Saturn will work well too. Make a sketch of the planet you choose and all the surrounding stars so that you can see the planet's position in relation to those stars. Then when you go out the next Monday night at 9:00, you can see how far your planet has traveled in relation to those stars which are still pretty close to the same place that they were. On the third Monday night at 9:00, you can see how much further that your planet has traveled. Thats what they mean by the planets traveled and where the word planet originated.
If you draw an imaginary line in the sky along the path of the planet, that is the same path that all the planets travel so if you look along that imaginary line, that will make it easier for you to find other planets.
I hope that this helps you to understand.
2007-12-19 00:18:11 · answer #1 · answered by B. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To the ancients, the only difference between a planet and a star is that the planets move. The word "planet" means "wanderer," because they were the objects that wandered in relation to the fixed stars, and the word also referred to the Sun and Moon for this reason.
They did not know, for instance, that there was a difference in kind between the stars and the planets, or what that difference in kind might be. The word "star" was a general term that could refer to any heavenly body, including what we now refer to only as stars, planets, the Sun and Moon, constellations, comets, etc.
2007-12-19 06:12:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The twinkling method is usually reliable, but not always. On calm nights, the stars near the zenith can be quite steady. Planets, when near the horizon or on breezy nights, can twinkle.
Find where the ecliptic is. That's the path traversed by the sun and planets. If you see a fairly bright star near the ecliptic and it's not twinkling (or not very much), it is probably a planet.
2007-12-19 05:45:58 · answer #3 · answered by Choose a bloody best answer. It's not hard. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because stars were staying in the same position while planets were moving around.
Planet actually means wanderer in ancient Greek.
2007-12-19 05:53:20 · answer #4 · answered by bestonnet_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main marker between a star and a planet is its intensity and the blinking nature.
Stars blink,but not the planets(why?).
Then comes the intensity...Generally planets are brighter than the stars(coz they r nearer)
u can only watch the planets of our solar system and
don't expect to see the planets of other solar systems!
Hope this helps you...
2007-12-19 05:41:18 · answer #5 · answered by Saswat777 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars twinkle, planets don't.
2007-12-19 05:38:10 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋