Stars in the sky

[Machiavelli]

It was a beautiful night last night. I wandered out at 11.30pm and the sky was so clear, with so many stars visible. I quickly grabbed a picture with my phone as I’m keen to learn more about the night sky. Is the bright start Sirius? I feel like I can make out Canis Major, but this could be my imagination.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Nice shot. I think you've got Sirius at the bottom near the horizon, between the trees.

 

[Chris]

Lovely clear view there.

Google Sky Map is quite a cool app - you can point it at the sky and it'll show you what's what.

 

[Kepis]

Sirius near the bottom between the trees, nice shot of the Orion constellation and it's belt & sword too, the two very bright objects above are Jupiter (visible through binoculars) and i think Capella, if you look to the west (right) of Jupiter you will see an open cluster (Pleiades aka seven sisters) i've always thought of them as diamonds on black velvet, visible to the naked eye, but stunning through a pair of binoculars.

If you are into books more than apps, a superb book is Turn Left at Orion, which navigates you through the night sky using Orion as a starting point.

 

[Chris]

If you are into books more than apps, a superb book is Turn Left at Orion, which navigates you through the night sky using Orion as a starting point.

That's one for the Christmas list, thanks.

 

[William_Montgomery]

a superb book is Turn Left at Orion

Great book. The Cambridge Star Atlas in another excellent one for the collection.

 

[Pattree]

Love the star shot.

Haven’t had a full clear sky here for months.

Does that street light go out later at night?

I do have Skyview lite. I can discuss stars with the Australians in my family by looking through the floor.

 

[Machiavelli]

Nice shot. I think you've got Sirius at the bottom near the horizon, between the trees.

Ahh, thank you. I had thought the other bright object was Sirius, but as Kepis said, that’s Jupiter.

 

[Machiavelli]

Lovely clear view there.

Google Sky Map is quite a cool app - you can point it at the sky and it'll show you what's what.

Excellent! Thank you for the recommendation, Chris.

 

[Machiavelli]

Sirius near the bottom between the trees, nice shot of the Orion constellation and it's belt & sword too, the two very bright objects above are Jupiter (visible through binoculars) and i think Capella, if you look to the west (right) of Jupiter you will see an open cluster (Pleiades aka seven sisters) i've always thought of them as diamonds on black velvet, visible to the naked eye, but stunning through a pair of binoculars.

If you are into books more than apps, a superb book is Turn Left at Orion, which navigates you through the night sky using Orion as a starting point.

Thank you for pointing a few objects out, Kepis. I’m going to dig the binoculars out and see what else I can spot. I have also ordered Turn Left at Orion today.

 

[Machiavelli]

Love the star shot.

Haven’t had a full clear sky here for months.

Does that street light go out later at night?

I do have Skyview lite. I can discuss stars with the Australians in my family by looking through the floor.

Interestingly, that’s not a street light. It’s just trees and scrub land behind the houses. I didn’t even notice it last night. I don’t know if it’s a solar light on a shed, but I’m going to try and see if it’s around tonight.

 

[Pattree]

If you have a star gazing app -

Look at the same sky as @Machiavelli photo. It’s behind you just under the horizon.

Right now ( 14.40. 28/11/24 ) Jupiter is between the horns of the Taurus. It looks like something from an Egyptian tomb. (Provided you can imagine constellations). Of course they don’t really exist. Some of the stars in the plough are almost s far from their neighbours than we are from the nearer ones when viewed from the “side”.

I sometimes wish I could afford a decent tracking telescope.

 

[John Fenna]

I enjoy a good "Starscape" on my morning walks. I know a few navigational stars/constellations but could do with learning more ...
The best "Starscape" I have enjoyed was when canoeing down the Orange River between S.Africa and Namibia - such a clear sky and no light pollution that the sky was almost white with stars and I could not find any named bits except "The Coalsack" as there were just too many stars visible!

 

[Pattree]

Not sure from your photo because Jupiter is currently very close but that bright star is about where I’d expect Aldabaron (The bull’s eye). If it has a tiny red star next to it then it is Aldabaron, one of the brightest stars in the sky.