what are visible with naked eye in the night sky these days?
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what are visible with naked eye in the night sky these days?
what are visible with the naked eye in the night sky these days?
- weixing
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Hi,
At Sunset... from 8pm - 9pm, look North-west. You'll see a very bright "star"... basically the brightest "star" in the sky.. shining brightly in the western sky... that's our current evening "star"... Venus... the second planet from our Sun.
Now look at South-west sky... slightly higher than Venus, you'll see a bright white star. That's the brightest star (ok, this is a real star) in the sky... the "Dog Star", Sirius.
Look overhead now, you'll see the constellation Leo "chasing" our sixth planet... the real lord of the ring... Saturn.
From 9pm onwards, look at the Southern sky, you'll see four stars form a diamond or kite shape. That's the smallest constellation in the sky... Crux... The Southern Cross. The longer axis of Crux points towards the southern celestial pole.
Look at the East (left) of Crux, you'll see two bright stars forming a straight line pointing at Crux, that's Alpha Centauri (the left star) and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system... just 4.35 light years away and it's actually a triple star system. Through a small telescope... I think a decent bino also can, you'll see the two brightest components... Alpha Centauri A and B forming a pair of binary star. The third stars, Alpha Centauri C, is the nearest star to us... only 4.22 light years, but it's too dim to see with any amateur telescope. And because of this proximity, Alpha Centauri C is also called Proxima Centauri.
Now, look at the Northern sky, you'll see the famous seven stars of the North..."The Big Dipper" or 北斗七星 in mandarin. That's the tail of "The Great Bear" constellation... Ursa Major. Draw an imaginary line from Beta through Alpha Ursae Majoris (the two brightest star form the dipper) and it'll point towards the north celestial pole.
Look at the Easthern sky after 11pm... if you still awake, you'll see a red colour star... Antares... the heart of the constellation Scorpius. Antares is a super red giant star... the diameter is approximately 700 times of our Sun. If Antares replace our Sun, its outer surface would extend between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. Antares is also an irregular variable star... it expands and contracts in an unpredictable manner causing its brightness to change.
Below Antares, you'll see a very bright "star"... that's our fifth and biggest planet, Jupiter.
Enjoy the night sky!
Have a nice day.
Hmm... lets me see... :roll: :roll:what are visible with the naked eye in the night sky these days?
At Sunset... from 8pm - 9pm, look North-west. You'll see a very bright "star"... basically the brightest "star" in the sky.. shining brightly in the western sky... that's our current evening "star"... Venus... the second planet from our Sun.
Now look at South-west sky... slightly higher than Venus, you'll see a bright white star. That's the brightest star (ok, this is a real star) in the sky... the "Dog Star", Sirius.
Look overhead now, you'll see the constellation Leo "chasing" our sixth planet... the real lord of the ring... Saturn.
From 9pm onwards, look at the Southern sky, you'll see four stars form a diamond or kite shape. That's the smallest constellation in the sky... Crux... The Southern Cross. The longer axis of Crux points towards the southern celestial pole.
Look at the East (left) of Crux, you'll see two bright stars forming a straight line pointing at Crux, that's Alpha Centauri (the left star) and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system... just 4.35 light years away and it's actually a triple star system. Through a small telescope... I think a decent bino also can, you'll see the two brightest components... Alpha Centauri A and B forming a pair of binary star. The third stars, Alpha Centauri C, is the nearest star to us... only 4.22 light years, but it's too dim to see with any amateur telescope. And because of this proximity, Alpha Centauri C is also called Proxima Centauri.
Now, look at the Northern sky, you'll see the famous seven stars of the North..."The Big Dipper" or 北斗七星 in mandarin. That's the tail of "The Great Bear" constellation... Ursa Major. Draw an imaginary line from Beta through Alpha Ursae Majoris (the two brightest star form the dipper) and it'll point towards the north celestial pole.
Look at the Easthern sky after 11pm... if you still awake, you'll see a red colour star... Antares... the heart of the constellation Scorpius. Antares is a super red giant star... the diameter is approximately 700 times of our Sun. If Antares replace our Sun, its outer surface would extend between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. Antares is also an irregular variable star... it expands and contracts in an unpredictable manner causing its brightness to change.
Below Antares, you'll see a very bright "star"... that's our fifth and biggest planet, Jupiter.
Enjoy the night sky!
Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." 


while looking at scorpius, try to spot M7. With some luck, you may be able to see it.weixing wrote:Hi,Hmm... lets me see... :roll: :roll:what are visible with the naked eye in the night sky these days?
At Sunset... from 8pm - 9pm, look North-west. You'll see a very bright "star"... basically the brightest "star" in the sky.. shining brightly in the western sky... that's our current evening "star"... Venus... the second planet from our Sun.
Now look at South-west sky... slightly higher than Venus, you'll see a bright white star. That's the brightest star (ok, this is a real star) in the sky... the "Dog Star", Sirius.
Look overhead now, you'll see the constellation Leo "chasing" our sixth planet... the real lord of the ring... Saturn.
From 9pm onwards, look at the Southern sky, you'll see four stars form a diamond or kite shape. That's the smallest constellation in the sky... Crux... The Southern Cross. The longer axis of Crux points towards the southern celestial pole.
Look at the East (left) of Crux, you'll see two bright stars forming a straight line pointing at Crux, that's Alpha Centauri (the left star) and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system... just 4.35 light years away and it's actually a triple star system. Through a small telescope... I think a decent bino also can, you'll see the two brightest components... Alpha Centauri A and B forming a pair of binary star. The third stars, Alpha Centauri C, is the nearest star to us... only 4.22 light years, but it's too dim to see with any amateur telescope. And because of this proximity, Alpha Centauri C is also called Proxima Centauri.
Now, look at the Northern sky, you'll see the famous seven stars of the North..."The Big Dipper" or 北斗七星 in mandarin. That's the tail of "The Great Bear" constellation... Ursa Major. Draw an imaginary line from Beta through Alpha Ursae Majoris (the two brightest star form the dipper) and it'll point towards the north celestial pole.
Look at the Easthern sky after 11pm... if you still awake, you'll see a red colour star... Antares... the heart of the constellation Scorpius. Antares is a super red giant star... the diameter is approximately 700 times of our Sun. If Antares replace our Sun, its outer surface would extend between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. Antares is also an irregular variable star... it expands and contracts in an unpredictable manner causing its brightness to change.
Below Antares, you'll see a very bright "star"... that's our fifth and biggest planet, Jupiter.
Enjoy the night sky!
Have a nice day.