What object is currently beside the moon?

Question

I'm looking from Tehran, Latitude: 35° 45' N and Longitude 51° 30' E, and from the time it gets dark until AT LEAST 2 a.m. (I haven't checked the sky after that) I see this very bright object next to the moon. It looks like it's a planet and it's very big and visible despite the fact that the moon is almost full.

What planet is that? Thanks.

Answer 1

aw, man... and i missed it.

it was cloudy here all night.

check tomorrow, you will see just how far the Moon goes in one night... and backwards!

Answer 2

The Intenational Space Station (ISS) (Foremely Called), (Space Station Freedom)

Answer 3

That would be Jupiter. Its very bright, and coming as close to Earth as it will be in a couple of years. I would recommend observing it soon before it gets out of our view. I've been observing it almost every night for the past month.

Answer 4

  

It is the planet Jupiter. If u have a scope, or even some binoculars, you can look at it and probably see its' 4 largest moons.

Answer 5

I do hope you realise that Jupiter isn’t “literally” beside the moon.  It is in fact nearly 2000 times as far away.  It is simply in the same line of sight.  

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Ignore Kerry's answer.  For heaven’s sake, why do people guess answers.  Mercury and Venus will NEVER be seen in close proximity to a near full moon.  

Here’s why:  Mercury and Venus orbit the sun inside Earth’s orbit.  So, if you draw those 3 orbits on a piece of paper, you will see that from earth’s perspective, the inner planets will always be in the same hemisphere of the sky to the sun.  

The full or nearly full moon is diametrically opposite the sun in the sky (that’s why most of the facing side of the moon is lit - the full moon rises in the East as the sun sets in the West).  

So, you see, Venus and Mercury are always fairly close to the sun in line of sight, and cannot be in the opposite side of the sky to the sun, where the full moon appears.

Jupiter on the other hand, orbits the sun far outside Earth’s orbit, so it is very often in the opposite side of the sky from our perspective.

Answer 6

Non other than Jupiter the largest planet in Solar system.

Answer 7

Its Jupiter. The biggest planet, you cant miss it.

Answer 8

you know this is so funny, but i saw that same 'star-like' body next to the moon tonight and wondered what it was. when i saw this question and read some people's answers, i went back to look at jupiter and found it had gone. there is now nothing beside the moon.  

Answer 9

That's the cow jumping over the Moon.

It could also be Jupiter.

Answer 10

That is the planet Jupiter.  It is very close to "opposition", which is the time when an outer planet, the Earth, and the sun are in a straight line (in that order).  At opposition a planet comes up at sunset.

Answer 11

Degenerat is right its ISS