bright star in the south

My neighbour says that a really bright star at dusk looking roughly south
and maybe 25 degrees up from the horizon is a satellite. I queried this and
he convinced me that it was. It's stationary.
I think it's Jupiter
Who's right?
I live 30 miles south of London

In article , Nige wrote:
My neighbour says that a really bright star at dusk looking roughly south
and maybe 25 degrees up from the horizon is a satellite. I queried this and
he convinced me that it was. It's stationary.
I think it's Jupiter
Who's right?

You are. It's Jupiter all right. Take a look through a small 'scope (or
even binoculars) and you'll see a small disk and even the four major
moons.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk
JediGeeks http://www.jedigeeks.com
"Ah, gentle dames, it gars me greet, To think how monie councels sweet,
How monie lengthen'd, sage advices, The Husband frae the wife despises!"

"Jim" wrote in message
...
In article , Nige wrote:
My neighbour says that a really bright star at dusk looking roughly south
and maybe 25 degrees up from the horizon is a satellite. I queried this
and
he convinced me that it was. It's stationary.
I think it's Jupiter
Who's right?

You are. It's Jupiter all right. Take a look through a small 'scope (or
even binoculars) and you'll see a small disk and even the four major
moons.

Thanks Jim !
Will do later.

Quick guide to satellite spotting:

- appears stationary - star or planet
- flashes on and off - plane
- moves but changes course - plane
- accompanied by roaring noise - plane
- row of windows with people waving - plane

Although there ARE 'stationary' satellites ('geostationary') you can not see
them with the naked eye.

Usually a satellite is seen within an hour or two after sunset / before
sunrise. However in summer you can see them to the north even at midnight
due to sunlight creeping over the north pole.

The giveaway that an object is a satellite is when it disappears as it moves
away from the sun's direction so that it passes into the earth's shadow (an
effect called 'occulting').

I guess that 99% of satellite sightings are of the International Space
Station which is by far the easiest to see at magnitude 0 to -1. There are a
handful of others round about magnitude 3 to 5 and hundreds of others which
are unfortunately practically invisible.

The next opportunity of seeing the ISS from the UK will be from the 20th of
this month at about 10:40 p.m. After August 24th. After that not much to see
until October. For a good program to keep track of ISS and other satellites
try Orbitron at www.stoff.pl which is free (but the owner of the site would
appreciate a postcard from you as 'payment')

John

"Nige" wrote in message
...
My neighbour says that a really bright star at dusk looking roughly south
and maybe 25 degrees up from the horizon is a satellite. I queried this
and he convinced me that it was. It's stationary.
I think it's Jupiter
Who's right?
I live 30 miles south of London

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:01:22 GMT, "John Rampling"
wrote:

Quick guide to satellite spotting:

- flashes on and off - plane

Not necessarily. Tumblers appear to flash on and off as parts of them
catch and reflect the light of the Sun as the craft rotates in space.

This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg
--
Pete
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk

Pete Lawrence wrote:

This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg


Now that's what makes you such a good observer!

--
Gareth

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:17:21 GMT, (Gareth Slee)
wrote:

Pete Lawrence wrote:

This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg


Now that's what makes you such a good observer!

lol!

--
Pete
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk

Pete Lawrence wrote in
:


This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg

Nah.... it's a picture of a plane



Rene Magritte

"mike" wrote
Pete Lawrence wrote in
:


This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg

Nah.... it's a picture of a plane



Rene Magritte

:-)

On 31 Jul 2006 16:53:43 GMT, mike wrote:

Pete Lawrence wrote in
:


This is defintely a plane though...

http://www.globalobservers.net/lifeb...oad_angel2.jpg

Nah.... it's a picture of a plane

It's flat ain't it?
--
Pete
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk