There is a beautiful Jupiter out tonight.

[Brigid]

If it's clear where you are, outside and look to the east. You won't miss it. It's lovely. :)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/touch/story.html?id=5503488

[Lucian]

1. I've been seeing Jupiter outside every night for years now.

It's quite lovely indeed.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Was watching it with my new little telescope

a couple of nights ago. Saw the moons, a little striping.

The universe is amazing.

[kentuck]

6. I saw one of the moons with my binoculars...

at about 7 o'oclock, if Jupiter were a clock... It is something!

[patrice]

3. A dream I had once about a gathering place under a great tree near the edge of the world, happened

this last week.

I am so proud of everyone's hard work and pride. I can't tell you . . .

Sat Nam! K.C.

[tridim]

4. I assumed it was Venus. Thanks for the clarification.

[Tesha]

10. The easy and usually-accurate way to distinguish Venus from Jupiter...

...is to consider where that bright thing in the sky is
in relation to the Sun.

Because Venus orbits closer to the Sun than us, it *MUST*
always appear in the sky somewhere in the neighborhood
of the Sun, either rising and setting just after the Sun
or just before the Sun, hence its nickname of "Morningstar"
and "Even(ing)star".

By comparison, because Jupiter orbits quite a bit farther
out from the Sun than us, it can appear anywhere long the
Ecliptic (~the path of the Sun and Moon in the sky), but
when it appears near the Sun, it's "across the orbit"
from us so very far away from the Earth so not so bright.
If it's on our (current) side of the orbit, it appears in
our sky away from the Sun and quite bright.

Mars also orbits farther out but is distinctly reddish
in hue.

And I have no good rule to sort out Saturn from Jupiter. ;)

Tesha

[fishwax]

5. cool -- and interesting article, thanks

:bounce:

[RZM]

7. I think I just saw it

It's way larger and brighter than anything else out there. Without this thread, I wouldn't have known to look. Thanks!

[absyntheminded]

8. Coolest program - Stellarium.

I just love this program. Set up your own location and get a real time, progressing picture of the night (or day) sky above you. you can identify everything you see using this program - too cool. I like to sit out back with the laptop and watch the program mirror the sky above. Distance, speed, moon orbits, etc. Everything is calculated to the nth degree.

Zoom in on planets, stars, other galaxies, etc. like having your own planetarium on your PC.

http://www.stellarium.org/ :headbang:

[absyntheminded]

9. Just loaded..

the latest version...

It even has satellite telemetry, sweet!

[Tesha]

11. The last few years' versions of Google Earth can do this as well, IIRC. (NT)