[Q] Could somebody explain this?

[Rock-Star]

I seen something in the heavens last night that freaked me out. I'm not much of a star-gazer but astronomy still fascinates me. I just moved to a small town in Manitoba Canada, and now I can really see the stars. But last night (Jan 25) there was a bright light that I couldn't explain. I tried to convince myself that it was a star (but it looked about as bright as headlights from a car from a distance) If I believed in UFOs I would have sworn that's what it was...but it didn't move. Can somebody explain this? Did anybody else notice it?

[Theory5]

what heading? Which way were you looking? And what time was it?

[Turtle]

Just guessing, I'd say it is Venus. It is currently up in the SW after susnset for several hours. All-in-all, Venus is the most reported unusual bright light in the sky. Here's a page with sky activity for January: >> StarDate Online | January 2009 Sky Almanac

[belovelife]

C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

 

mabe this :)

[Turtle]

C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

 

mabe this :eek2:

 

I think that comet is still only visible with binoculars or a small telescope. :) It's worth looking for on purpose though.

[Rock-Star]

Thanks, I never seen anything like it. I appreciate your responses.

[Turtle]

Thanks, I never seen anything like it. I appreciate your responses.

 

roger. you're welcome. :rolleyes: we have a thread on skywatching if you're interested. >> Skywatchers' Journal

[max4236]

It's most likely a planet if it's that bright but didn't move. Some stars are variable in brightness. What part of the sky did you see it? Another possiblity could be a supernova, but those are really rare. We'd probably hear about it on the news if it was one of those. Could you pick out a color to it? There's a university near here that sometimes shines a bright green laser into the sky to create an artifical star to use for as a reference for an adaptive optics telescope, it effectively makes it like they're peering out into space without the atmosphere in the way. Could also be a weather balloon. If it was right after sunset the light could still be illuminating the balloon for a bit. Or a jet some distance towards the horizon.