Astronomy experts and buffs - what is going on with Venus??

[truedelphi]

Monday night I joined the spouse in his evening hike to the beach. Coming back, he pointed out a bright object in the sky, and asked what I thought it was.

It was a few moments before the sun actually set, so there was nothing in the sky yet except a few whisps of clouds. And yes, over in the SW portion of the sky, there was an extremely bright object.

Since the only sky thing-ey I know of that is out like that so early in the night would be Venus, I stated it might be Venus. But it was so bright, I stood stock still for a good three or four minutes to make sure it wasn't a plane.

M. assured me it wasn't a plane, as the object had been in the exact same spot the evening before.

A jet came into the picture, flying at maybe 20K to 25K feet. And the jet flew directly above this object. (At least that is how it appeared to our naked eyes.)

Now we are both seeing reports on the internets that the object is considered an UFO. People are saying it its too bright to be Venus. And indeed, I'm in my early 60's and I have never seen Venus so bright.

Could it be the space station? Or what?

[Bay Boy]

1. Anthing that is flying and

you don't know what it is, by definition, a UFO. But since you are probably right that it was Venus then I guess it doesn't fit the definition. Since planets don't 'fly'.

[Vashta Nerada]

2. Venus sets at 7:04 pm central time.

I'm sure that's what you saw.

Here's a cool link to see what's up in the sky this week: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance

[truedelphi]

12. Thanks for the link. n/t

[lastlib]

3. Likely Venus......

http://earthsky.org/tonight

[truedelphi]

13. And thank you for yr link. n/t

[johnd83]

4. If you have a smartphone try Google sky map

It is a very cool program. It will tell you what celestial object you are pointing at.

[uppityperson]

5. I have seen Venus recently and it is higher and brighter than I remember in the past

The ISS moves, so if it was stationary, not that. Venus has been very bright and high recently. I've been noticing as you have and wondering about it also.

[rdharma]

6. Greatest elongation of Venus early Nov.

No. That is Venus alright. And it is very bright now. About - 4.5 magnitude.

Here's why........

http://www.astronomy.com/observing/sky-events/2013/10/venus-at-its-best-appearance-for-2013

Enjoy!

[longship]

8. Magnitude -4.5?

Mag 4.5 is barely visible without magnification. Anything above 5 is basically scope only.

Venus is brightest thing in the sky next to the Sun and the moon. It should be a negative magnitude, in other words very bright.

Just for people's information.

[rdharma]

9. MINUS 4.5 going to MINUS 4.9 on Dec. 6th

It might even cast a shadow on Dec. 5th and 6th if conditions are good.

[longship]

10. Yup! There will be many UFO reports.

Funny how that works, eh?

Moonrise/moonset is another common UFO sighting time.

Of course, Venus is pretty much always near the horizon at night.

[truedelphi]

11. Thanks for the explanation.

Not sure what an elongation is, but good to know it's not our Reptilian Overlords coming to get us.

Last time the spouse spotted an UFO, it turned out to be a rocket launched from Southern Calif.

We were living in the SF Bay area then. He saw the brilliant streaking object and realized it would probably clear the land and hit the ocean.

He was super excited, thinking it was an extra ordinary event. But by the evening news, the matter was cleared up. It was just part of a rocket test for nation's defense. And it did end up smacking down into the Pacific Ocean.

[pokerfan]

17. Elongation

Venus orbits inside the Earth which limits how far (from our vantage point) it can be from the Sun. That's why it's always either an evening "star" or a morning "star." Maximum elongation just means it's at its limit and will now appear to begin moving closer to the Sun, setting earlier and earlier.

[bananas]

14. Wow - on Dec 6, it might be bright enough to cast a shadow!

Throughout November and into December, Venus’ appearance will continue to improve, as it ascends higher in the sky and brightens. Then, on December 6, Venus shines at magnitude –4.9, the brightest it ever gets. It’s so bright, in fact, that you might be able to see a shadow: Try waving your hand above a fresh blanket of snow.

Thanks for the link!

[Arkansas Granny]

7. My sister and I noticed the same thing a few evenings ago.

We didn't ever remember seeing it so bright before, but figured it had to be Venus. I'm glad others have noticed it too and it wasn't due to our advanced age.

[pokerfan]

15. Venus is brighter than any star in our skies apart from the Sun

I've been fooled. I'm usually aware of the evening sky from night to night but one time I was camping out and saw it as a morning star, hours before sunrise. When it popped from behind a mountain ridge I almost convinced myself it was an airplane, with landing lights. So bright it was. But when I realized it wasn't moving, I realized it must be Venus.

“What’s that bright object to the southwest at dusk?” We’ve already fielded more than a few such questions as Earth’s sister world shines in the dusk sky. Venus just passed its maximum elongation 47 degrees east of the Sun on November 1st, and currently shines at a brilliant magnitude -4.46. This is almost 16 times brighter than the brightest star in the sky, -1.46th magnitude Sirius.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/106160/bright-venus-takes-center-stage-in-november/#ixzz2juOzeMVD

[ChazInAz]

16. Simple explanation

Venus has just come around from the far side of it's orbit. Therefore, what we're seeing is reflection from the planet's clouds from nearly the whole surface of the globe. Venus will start dimming as it swings around between the Earth and the Sun, and we see more of her dark side.
I've been watching through my telescopes.

[pokerfan]

18. Interesting

At maximum elongation, it's usually around half phase:

[Orsino]

20. And the shape is visible in even cheap binoculars.

The bulge of Venus will be pointed at the sun, as with our moon.

[truedelphi]

19. Your explanation helps me get my head around it. n/t