Quote:
Originally Posted by everCurious
Last night (or shall I say 3.30 in the morning) I saw 2 fascinating stars (amazing considering I live in urban sydney with out polluted skies & whatnot).
1) Easily the brightest star in the sky and THE brightest & largest star I have ever seen with the naked eye (Im not exaggerating). It sported more than a mild twinkle, flashing bright white, blue & red. Surreal. Im pretty sure it wasnt an airplane since I stared at it for about 5 mins to make sure (and try to make sense of what I was seeing) & it didnt budge.
2) A coppery red star- very bright, but not twinkling at all, just slightly larger than the average star in size
Does anyone have any idea what star I may have seen?
Someone please enlighten me!
Thanks |
No.1 is Sirius. At 3.30am it is getting low, and bright stars can often show colours when twinkling paticularly at low elevations due to the refraction as the light passes through Earth's atmosphere.
No.2. is Mars. Planets generally don't twinkle, although Jupiter and Venus might appear to when close to the horizon due to their great brilliance.