Did anyone see that star right next to the moon last night?

Question

I don't mean the North Star. This one was EXTREMELY close to the moon. Do you know what it was? I called & left a message for the weatherman to call back & tell me. Guess he thought I was "luney"! (Pun intended!)

Answer 1

Was it that new big satellite?

Answer 2

Im looking at it now through my binoculars (only good thing I have wish I had a telescope) and its the most awesome thing ever

Answer 3

Mars is a red-tinged planet

With a very shiny glow

And if you look to see it

You will find the moon in tow.

The red planet will shine brighter because it will be directly opposite the sun, reflecting the most light, and fairly close to Earth, only 55.5 million miles away. The full moon will appear nearby, rising about an hour later.

Mars will outshine the brightest star and won't be as noticeable in the sky for nine more years, The Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of Mars, which came closest to Earth on Dec. 18, but it will be brighter on Christmas Eve because of its position opposite the sun.

"It will be a brilliant red light, "It is so bright it knocks your socks off."

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Answer 4

The moon was extremely big and round iny part of the world - Australia and no I did not see any star.

Answer 5

I think it was Mars. Mars was really visible a few weeks ago and was in the same spot.

Answer 6

If it was a planet it would be mars. If a star likely Pollux but I need to check that. (Gemini is a good thought. The moon is in that constellation now)

You might be interested in "Stellarium"

It is a free download that gives you an excellent sky chart. It is very good and free too.

It does not take much space either. You can scroll it back and forward in time and you can make it show what the sky looks like from your location (part of the configuration set up, marked by the wrench icon).

http://www.stellarium.org/

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Answer 7

It was probably Mars that you were seeing. It has a slight reddish color. Mars is supposed to be the brightest and the most visible  right now than it will be for years.

Answer 8

If it was early evening it was Venus.

Answer 9

That was Mars, it was incredibly bright this time, and all over Yahoo! News. Wasnt' it pretty?

Answer 10

Sorry Denie, but I don't know what star you saw.  Since the moon doesn't maintain the same position relative to the stars in the sky it depends on the time of day and the time of year.  I would comb the astronomy section for some sort of website or calculator to help you figure out what star/planet it was you were seeing.

Answer 11

i think its mars

Answer 12

Attention astrology buffs;  the closest star to our moon is our own sun.  Our moon is approximately 235,000 miles from the earth.  Our sun is approximately 93,000,000 miles away.  If a star was close to our moon the earth and the moon would be drawn towards the sun  but would be vaporized befor moving very far.

Answer 13

I thought I heard tell that Sirius shines brightest around this time. Not sure though but perhaps worth looking into if you're interested.