Star, Planet or Satellite?

[alankinguk]

I live near Wareham in Dorset. Each evening about 5pm, in the Southern sky when there is no clouds there is a bright object which moves slowly towards the south. Anyone know what it is?

[Celtigra3]

I think it is either Venus or Mars

[gen2]

It cannot be Mars - that will be more in the east at 5pm. Venus is certainly a possibility. How fast is it moving? If it is Venus, then it will appear to move at the same speed as the sun - ie 15degrees per hour. If it is moving faster than that then you have to consider it to be some man-made object - perhaps the 4pm flight from Manchester to the Canaries? A moving satellite would not appear in the same spot at the same time every night so I would rule that out.

[Cetti]

I live about 8 miles from you alan, so can we clarify the position just a bit more? If this object begins in the south and then moves in a southerly direction it must be actually dropping slightly in the sky. Is this right?

Both Saturn and Jupiter are very bright at the moment, in fact Christmas Eve I could see the rings around Saturn with just an ordinary pair of bins.

[alankinguk]

Cetti: Appears as soon as sun starts to go down and yes, starts low in the south (seen through french-windows of south facing garden) and appears to move south - using panel of french windows as guide - thanks for your help.

[les saisies]

look at www.heavens-above.com.

will tell you all you need to know

[kags]

I would say it is almost certainly Venus. Over the next month it will disappear and then reappear in the morning sky by the end of January (after it has passed in front of the sun).

[Cetti]

Well alan, after pouring through books and Googling the consensus is that it's definitely Venus. Jupiter rises at about 5am and travels slowly through Libra - so that's out......Saturn doesn't appear until around 8.30pm...so that's the other one gone.

Venus came to maximum brilliance on December 18th, it's just about on the wane now being low in the South - South West sky after sunset....so that tallies with your observations....I hope. I keep saying I'm going to visit the Observatory at Worth Matravers to see the heavens properly and hopefully learn a bit!

[alankinguk]

Thank you all very much for your help

Alan King

www.kingart.co.uk