Astronomy Question Trying To Identify A Star

[Deleted member 36384]

I am trying to identify a very bright star, its twinkling and an orange colour. A bit of a long shot with the description but here goes.

I am currently in Saudi Arabia, near the coast just opposite Bahrain. If I face the constellation of Orion, on Orion's shoulders there are 2 bright stars. Orions right shoulder (to my left) the star is particularly bright, Betelgeus I think, and a we bit orange. The star I am interested in is to the left of Orion's shoulder stars.

If you take a line through the 2 shoulder stars its about another 5 x the distance between Orion's shoulders. The star is lower than this line and a very bright orange colour.

I have read that a star in Orion is Super Nova and very bright, could that be Betelgeus? However, what is this other very bright star? Is it a Super Nova?

Ok - you may be wondering why I don't use N, S, E or W. Well, rather sadly I live in a concrete bubble here when at work and wander between office and residence. Until tonight I never really thought about the orientation of the compound I work in. Tonight is a clear night and this star stands out above all else.

Any ideas,

Thanks

BlowingOldBoots

 

[earlybird]

Mars by the sound of your description, currently Mag -1.1
BTW, Betelgeuse is a red giant.

 

[Dipper]

My Starry Night program shows a red giant called Alpha Ceti or Menkar or Menkab (it has several names) in the approximate position you have described. It is part of the constellation Cetus.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

It Is Not Twinkling

earlybird - I have just rechecked what I thought was a star and it is not twinkling, just stationary spikes of light. So Mars it is then.

I have never noticed Betelgeuse so bright before, nor even the red colour. Too long on land I think.

Many thanks,

BlowingOldBoots

 

[Bosun Higgs]

earlybird - I have just rechecked what I thought was a star and it is not twinkling, just stationary spikes of light. So Mars it is then.

or a geo stationary satellite.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

At the time of the last full moon (Photodog's pictures in the lounge) it was very large over here and low down, with all the features very obvious. Despite the town lights there appears to be a lot of clarity and more brightness than normal in the night sky.

A quick look through Wikipedia and it appears that a lot of these stars have variable brightness.

Thanks All

 

[Dipper]

I'm not sure whether you are refering to your left or Orion's left but if it is to your left (the Betelgeuse side) then it is Mars.

 

[Eygthene]

I have an old DOS program called EZ Cosmos which I expect you can still download from somewhere. It can be set for any location and any date and time and will show the night sky in as much, or as little detail as you wish. When you put the cursor on a star/planet it opens a dialogue box with all the details of the chosen object. You can also name an object and it will find and hightlight it. This is a very easy and really good help for star gazing.

 

[agurney]

The skies in Saudi are usually clear enough that it would be worth your while downloading Stellarium, a free planetarium package (http://stellarium.org/).

This is what Stellarium shows for the current view from Jeddah towards Orion/ Mars:

Alisdair

 

[Piers]

If you have an iPhone, download Planisphere (for the huge sumn of 59p!) and it will tell you. Stunning little app. Knows your GPS position, date and time of day, direction you are looking, hold it up to the night sky and zoom into what you can see and hey presto - identify to your heart's desire!

 

[dulcibella]

Certainly Mars. The only other yellow object in that direction is Procyon in Canis Minor - a bright star but nothing like as bright as Mars.

 

[Richard10002]

Dont know about Mars, but a line through his waist to his right, (your left), points to Sirius, which is the brightest star in the sky.

Presumably Sirius is below the body you are looking at?

 

[Searush]

I'm a Star - or so my Grandkids tell me

 

[photodog]

I'm a Star - or so my Grandkids tell me

Yes, but are you orange??