Red Tinted Star In The Sky Last Night?

[Backtrack]

Hi guys,

Last night about 1am I stepped out and noticed that one of the stars I usually see to the West had turned quite red.

Can anyone tell me the cause of this, of whether it was another planet?

[lorenzo]

You been eating strange plants again Bear...

My guess would be Betelgeuse.. ?

[Mesosphere]

It could be Jupiter. Red colour could be due to it being close to the horizon (Atmospheric Refraction?)

[Zenarcher]

Not sure what it was either because I saw it as well.

Just checked the planet software I use for my telescope it said at 11pm last night Jupiter would have been visible. It says for 1am to the West only the moon would be visible and the only other planet out then was Mars but was to the Southeast. Mars didn't come around to the West until 5am this morning.

So don't know what it could have been maybe a satellite.

The program I use says the moon was not alone last night could have been any one of those stars,

1am last night West

Edited February 3, 2012 by weathermaster

[Aaron]

You been eating strange plants again Bear...

My guess would be Betelgeuse.. ?

Hmm - this star is close to the end of its life - boom, massive supernova show in the night sky for all to see - watch out! ;P

[Mesosphere]

Actually , upon looking in my astronomy yearbook for 2012, i agree with Lorenzo , it's Betelgeuse. Times and location seem to match

[jonboy]

I believe it to be Venus that you saw slip over the horizon. However for the last week if you look at the night sky before about 9pm you can almost draw a line through Venus, Juptiter and the moon. The two planets are easy to spot as they are the bright objects to the west of the moon. These two planets will play around our moon in the night sky over the next month or so and will be great viewing especially with the very cold clear nights we are having

Jon

[Crepuscular Ray]

At 1 a.m. it was definitely not Venus, which currently sets just after 8 p.m. Mars and Saturn are both still in the south/east at that time and Jupiter's dipped below the horizon about an hour before. Betelgeuse is most likely.

[BornFromTheVoid]

+1 for Betelguese

[A.J]

It's Nibiru........we're all doomed!

[Backtrack]

Yes, everything does seem in order with that Wiki description for Betelgeuse

Cheers guys.

[Guest QuantumSnow]

Another vote for Betelgeuse. She's a beauty, prominent at this time of the year and would show up well in these exceptionally clear skies.

[Stargazer]

Assuming your sense of direction's correct I'd go for Jupiter, which could conceivably look reddish when low down under certain atmospheric conditions. However, if your compass has gone a bit awry you might be seeing Mars (considerably fainter at the moment) rising in the eastern sky at the same time.

[Crepuscular Ray]

At 1 a.m., as in the original post, Jupiter is below the horizon and Mars has been up for several hours and is some way above the horizon in the south-south-east, not low over the horizon in the east.

[Backtrack]

My compass informs me that this star was in the Eastern quadrant of the sky, so it could well be Mars!

[Zenarcher]

My compass informs me that this star was in the Eastern quadrant of the sky, so it could well be Mars!

Could well be, Mars is in that general direction.

[Guest]

Hmm - this star is close to the end of its life - boom, massive supernova show in the night sky for all to see - watch out! ;P

I hope it hurries up I would like to see this before I pop my clogs.

[Roger J Smith]

If east then I agree on Mars at that time. If west then Betelgeuse.

Just for added info, I mentioned this several months ago, but Venus and Jupiter will slowly approach in the skies until making a close conjunction on 13 March. Right now they can be seen reasonably close together in that you can see both of them (at about an hour after sunset) between the zenith and the southwest horizon. This separation will decrease noticeably as we move through February, and the moon will pass both late this month after new moon.

Meanwhile, here's a general overview of what one can see in the night skies this month. Starting from the evening sunset, Venus is very prominent and near maximum brightness, close to the southwest horizon by about two hours after sunset, so it's quite high for evening viewing. The next object looks like a half-Venus and that's Jupiter, very prominent especially once Venus is lower and not so obviously brighter. You may then spot Aldebaran, a red star, off to the upper right of Orion, a familiar shape high in the south around midnight. In rural areas, you can spot the Pleiades star cluster above Aldebaran, and the Moon's current orbit takes it across the Pleiades (this just happened and will occur next around 28 Feb). Below Orion and to its left, you'll find the brightest star in the sky, Sirius (not as bright as Jupiter). It often seems to be twinkling with different shades of light, blue, white, red although basically the hue is blue-white. Following the Moon along for the next few days (it just passed Orion), by tomorrow it should be close to the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, but these will be dimmed by the bright moonlight and hard to spot until the Moon has moved past. Next up is Regulus at the base of the sickle of Leo. That's a fairly bright star that will give you an idea how bright "first magnitude" is. The Moon is full on the 7th and passes close to Regulus later that night.

Between Regulus and Sirius is another fairly bright star, Procyon (alpha Canis minor). Getting back to the moon's forward progress, you need to be up past midnight to see any of this, but the Moon will then pass Mars, a bright red object, during the daytime on the 10th, but the separation is never less than 10 degrees. By the night of 12th-13th, the Moon near its last quarter passes Saturn and nearby Spica. Saturn would appear a little coppery-brown in hue compared to blue-white Spica. Much later towards sunrise you might spot Antares, another bright red star.

These are about the only stars and planets easy to see in urban areas (except for some much further from the path of the Moon like Canopus, another bright star far above Orion). In rural areas, of course, you'll see a lot more but these will be among the brightest.

[Backtrack]

If east then I agree on Mars at that time. If west then Betelgeuse.

Just for added info, I mentioned this several months ago, but Venus and Jupiter will slowly approach in the skies until making a close conjunction on 13 March. Right now they can be seen reasonably close together in that you can see both of them (at about an hour after sunset) between the zenith and the southwest horizon. This separation will decrease noticeably as we move through February, and the moon will pass both late this month after new moon.

Meanwhile, here's a general overview of what one can see in the night skies this month. Starting from the evening sunset, Venus is very prominent and near maximum brightness, close to the southwest horizon by about two hours after sunset, so it's quite high for evening viewing. The next object looks like a half-Venus and that's Jupiter, very prominent especially once Venus is lower and not so obviously brighter. You may then spot Aldebaran, a red star, off to the upper right of Orion, a familiar shape high in the south around midnight. In rural areas, you can spot the Pleiades star cluster above Aldebaran, and the Moon's current orbit takes it across the Pleiades (this just happened and will occur next around 28 Feb). Below Orion and to its left, you'll find the brightest star in the sky, Sirius (not as bright as Jupiter). It often seems to be twinkling with different shades of light, blue, white, red although basically the hue is blue-white. Following the Moon along for the next few days (it just passed Orion), by tomorrow it should be close to the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, but these will be dimmed by the bright moonlight and hard to spot until the Moon has moved past. Next up is Regulus at the base of the sickle of Leo. That's a fairly bright star that will give you an idea how bright "first magnitude" is. The Moon is full on the 7th and passes close to Regulus later that night.

Between Regulus and Sirius is another fairly bright star, Procyon (alpha Canis minor). Getting back to the moon's forward progress, you need to be up past midnight to see any of this, but the Moon will then pass Mars, a bright red object, during the daytime on the 10th, but the separation is never less than 10 degrees. By the night of 12th-13th, the Moon near its last quarter passes Saturn and nearby Spica. Saturn would appear a little coppery-brown in hue compared to blue-white Spica. Much later towards sunrise you might spot Antares, another bright red star.

These are about the only stars and planets easy to see in urban areas (except for some much further from the path of the Moon like Canopus, another bright star far above Orion). In rural areas, of course, you'll see a lot more but these will be among the brightest.

Cheers RJS, I suspect it was Mars then.

I've been able to view this for months though, I always watch it rise from the East. Any idea when it's been viewable from? For the record - this is the first time I've seen it with a red tint to it, probably due to the fact it was higher up in the sky, meaning the pollution of the atmosphere at lower levels wasn't obscuring the natural colour.