Any idea what this could be?

Question

i live in texas (just east of houston) and tonight i saw an exceptionally bright star to the north west of the moon (as viewed from the ground in texas) i could clearly see it even standing in a parking lot with full stadium lights.... to see ANY other star (and i only saw one) i had to squint and concentrate my vision pretty hard... in other words, i had to actually LOOK to see any other stars, but this thing is as apparent as the moon is.

any ideas? i don't recall ever noticing this before (and i spend alot of time staring at the sky)

Answer 1

U.S. space station

Answer 2

Gosh, you will have had a hard time sorting out the informed answers.  I wish people who don’t know anything would not answer.  

Jupiter is correct.

Even those who say Venus are just making it up.  You will never see Venus near a full or fairly full moon.  

And though you say you look in the sky all the time, Jupiter is visible much of the time, and has been conspicuous for weeks.  

Of course, it is not always that close to the moon.  That’s what has caught your attention.  

____________________

and the guy who says Jupiter is 4th brightest got it right for the wrong reasons.

Jupiter is brighter than any star, and most of the time is 4th brightest after sun, moon and Venus.  However, when Mars is at its closest, it can be a shade brighter than Jupiter.  But that is quite rare.

Answer 3

a space ship.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 4

I think you  should listen to the news, it could have been that many other people saw it too, UFO dude that`s awesome!!!

Answer 5

sounds like a close encounter

Answer 6

The bright object west of the Moon is Jupiter. If you look at it through binoculars, you can see the four major moons. Also if you follow the nursery rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Stars tend to twinkle while planets do not.  

Answer 7

I am pretty sure you are referring to Jupiter! It appears to be a very bright star in our sky. Beautiful, isn't it? Here is some more information:

http://space-exploration.suite101.com/ar...

Answer 8

IS JUPITER!!!!!

Answer 9

its a star, and anybody on this page who says alien i am going to personally find and punch in the face because anyone that believes aliens hang out at parking lots is retarded and deserves to be beatin up.

Answer 10

It's Jupiter

Answer 11

it could be a planet, mars, venus, something close, or it might be a meteor from the shower last night, but if its not moving across the sky...no. Only other thing is its the north star, brightest in the sky. Im in kingwood, can you see it right now...im gonna go look

Answer 12

It could be just a low flying object, or a satelite catching the sun just right. I wouldn't know for sure tho, i live much further north.

(correction High Flying object)

Answer 13

Maybe an UFO, standing still in the sky, starring at you...

lol IDK

Answer 14

probably an airplane...

Answer 15

a planet maybe

Answer 16

I saw the same thing today in southern Maine.

The moon was like 3/4 full here and there was a bright star about "2 inches" to the right of it, using my fingers to measure at arms length.

It was cloudy though, I think it's either a normal star, maybe even the north star(which would explain how we both saw it), and the moon just happened to be next to it at it's current phase.

Or!  It was Venus or something...

Answer 17

You were seeing the planet Jupiter.  Both Jupiter and Moon are very close together in the constellation Sagittarius this week, with Jupiter slightly northwest of Moon.

Jupiter is (I think) the 4th or 5th brightest object in the entire sky (following Sun, Moon, Venus, and maybe the star Sirius).  Right now Venus is very close to Sun and is difficult to see.  Normally a bright light like that in the western sky at that time of day is Venus.

Answer 18

no idea , sorry.

Answer 19

It be a fetching mermaid, lad. They be cold blooded and will slit your throat and make a meal of you, like the speaker of the House.  

Answer 20

It is Jupiter, Jupiter is very close to the moon through August.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing...

Answer 21

Its venus

Answer 22

Its a weather ballooo, like roswell, and the bright color could be some swamp gas that reflected of of venus, also the it kinda reminds me of Lucy in the Sky with Daimonds trip lol

Answer 23

I think it is jupiter

Answer 24

That is the planet Jupiter - its very bright in the night sky for the few months around opposition (which happens every 13-14 months).  Jupiter was at opposition in early July, so its going to get dimmer over the next months.

Answer 25

if it was that bright it was probably a planet, my guess would be mars

Answer 26

venus, jupiter,  if it was close to the moon it was probably jupiter

Answer 27

i live in east texas =]   maybe it is a ufo