Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.
2024 June 9
An illustration is shown which is a decision tree for identifying a
light that might be seen in the sky. The background is gray, and the
text is black in red-lined boxes. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.
How to Identify that Light in the Sky
Illustration Credit & Copyright: HK (The League of Lost Causes)
Explanation: What is that light in the sky? The answer to one of
humanity's more common questions may emerge from a few quick
observations. For example -- is it moving or blinking? If so, and if
you live near a city, the answer is typically an airplane, since planes
are so numerous and so few stars and satellites are bright enough to be
seen over the glare of artificial city lights. If not, and if you live
far from a city, that bright light is likely a planet such as Venus or
Mars -- the former of which is constrained to appear near the horizon
just before dawn or after dusk. Sometimes the low apparent motion of a
distant airplane near the horizon makes it hard to tell from a bright
planet, but even this can usually be discerned by the plane's motion
over a few minutes. Still unsure? The featured chart gives a
sometimes-humorous but mostly-accurate assessment. Dedicated sky
enthusiasts will likely note -- and are encouraged to provide -- polite
corrections.
Chart translations: Italian, German, Latvian, Persian, Polish, Spanish,
and Turkish
Tomorrow's picture: big lion
__________________________________________________________________
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.
--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
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