Expert: Tom Whiting - 1/31/2009

Question
QUESTION: I live in a suburb just outside chicago, and for the past few weeks ive noticed a really bright star, or planet could you confirm what it is?  Its in the southern to south east sky usually in the vicinity of the moon around 7 o'clock central time thanks

ANSWER: Hi Arturo,We need the time of night and as far as using the moon as a reference we need what day or date. The moon travels likea fast freight train relative to the other objects, moving a full12 degrees (1/30th of a circle) every 24 hours. Initially I thoughtthat you were seeing the brilliant planet Venus, BUT it's in thesouth-south WEST sky, setting about 3 hours after the sun, andI still think that's the one, but our compass directions don't matchup.  There is the very bright blue white star, the Dog Star (Sirius,
or Alpha Canis Majoris) about 20 degrees high in the SE at 7:30 pm
local central time, but the moon never gets very close to that star...it's the brightest "real" star in our night sky. Easy to
find as the 3 stars in alignment up in Orion, kind of point right
down to Sirius.  So...it's either Venus in the SW at that time,
or Sirius, the blue white twinkling dog star in the SE.
Your choice.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA

PS....time will tell, because during the next 6 weeks Venus will
get brighter but rapidly lower in the SW; we lose Venus in the
western evening twilight right around March 22nd. It then jumps into
the early morning sky, rising at the crack of dawn (about 90 minutes
ahead of the sun, in the east, by the end of April.
And yes, on certain nights, the evening crescent moon can be quite
close to Venus as both are on, or near, the ecliptic (plane of the
Solar System).
...but also, Sirius will be nearly due south on March 22nd, as darkness falls in the evening. 

So this will have to suffice, unless you want to give me more information, and check those compass directions please. I still think
it's the brilliant planet Venus you are seeing from the heavy
Chicago light pollution.

FOLLOW UP:
To keep up on the brightest planets locations and the moon, see
http://www.spaceweather.com
or
http://www.skyandtelescope.com
tom   

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Tom,
I actually made a mistake it is definitely Venus it is almost perfectly to the southwest every night around 7 pm.  I just wanted your opinion on the possibility of there being a planet x, have you heard anything or seen anything that might back up the possibility of its existence thanks. Arty

Answer
Hi Arty,
Yes, we've been getting a lot of questions about Venus in its current
apparition, so I suspected that's what you meant, especially with
all that city light pollution you have to suffer thru.
The moon is close to it tonight,(not physically, just apparently)but will move eastward by some 12 degrees by Sunday evening, as it has been doing for the past, oh, 3 billion years or so.  12 degrees
eastward every 24 hours, everyday, nearly forever. (or at least
during our lifetimes).

There is no planet X, in fact there is no planet IX either. Our
solar system only contains 8 major planets, unless you're from another planet of another star taking a survey, then you'd report back to your "home base" that the Solar System only contains 4 planets (the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) and some other small 'debris' orbiting our sun.
Because the sun contains 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System,
Jupiter has 0.1% and the remaining 0.04% is...everything else.

Any additional so called Planet X would have long since betrayed
itself either photographically, infrared excess, or gravitationally.
But that hasn't happened, and isn't going to happen.....
so quit reading the 'National Enquirer" type publications and all the internet nutsies...stay with the REAL astronomy on
http://www.spaceweather.com or
http://skyandtelescope.com or
http://spaceflightnow.com
As they all tell it like it is, without all that 'sensationalism'
just to sell their publications or websites.
And stay away from those 'metaphysics' sites that talk about Planet
X and how Einstein was wrong, and the Earth is flat, and all that
baloney.
Hope this helps,
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA