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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2087 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: July 11, 2018

Venus is the very bright star in the evening where the sun just set. Mercury in in the twilight between Venus and the sun. Jupiter is the very bright star almost due south at sunset. Looking to the left, there is a red star that twinkles, that is Antares. About the same distance in the same direction is a bright whitish star that does not twinkle, that is Saturn.

Then, there is Mars. Mars is currently brighter than everything in the sky other than the sun, moon and Venus. Mars rises about midnight, and at sunrise in the AM, Mars will be a very, very bright red beacon of light low in the west that does not twinkle.

It's a great time to be a planetary guy.





Dala  ·  2087 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It was Mars then. I guess it is brighter than I am used to. It did seem reddish though, so I should have guessed.

user-inactivated  ·  2087 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Mars will be directly opposite the sun on July 27. This is going to be the closest Mars has been to the earth since 2003 hence it is brighter than normal.

Which makes the dust storm a pain in the ass for anyone wanting to take pictures of Mars; all we are getting right now is a featureless orange ball.

Dala  ·  2086 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oh, I remember the "Mars is going to be as big as the moon in the sky" hoaxes back in '03. Wonder if that's going around again.

Sorry about the dust storm. I really should attempt to clean my telescope and try to look for myself.

user-inactivated  ·  2085 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yea that is popping up again. And no, just, no. I just sat in on a teleconference about this damnable malarky. All from a misunderstanding of a post from 2005

Mars is the fourth brightest object in the sky, but nowhere near as big or bright as the moon.