funny question for anyone...

Hello Mike,

Could be a number of things. Under very good viewing conditions it is possible to see some of the nearer galaxies with the naked eye.

A little more information might be helpful.

You call it a "star", implying that it doesn't move relative to the other stars. Is this accurate? The other stars "move" from east to west during the night - does this one move with them?

Do you recognize any nearby constellations that can be used to help locate it?

What type of night visiion equipment - light amp or infra red? (!! ?? or other ? !!!

Is the "star" visible to the naked eye? Or with binoculars having similar optical power as your night vision equipment?

Do your friends see it, too?

Can it be seen from the ground?

Is it larger than the moon? Andromeda is an eliptical galaxy (like our Milky Way) that can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, and can usually be seen with binoculars. It looks like a very faint fuzzy patch of light about 5 times larger than the moon. (I've never actually seen it myself, but from the big city you do good to see the moon.)

Hmmm. South-southwest, close on the horizon, viewed from several miles up - it could be one of the Magellanic Clouds. There are two, and they are small spherical galaxies usually only visible from the southern hemisphere. But your altitude might compensate.

Does it have any other characteristics that you can describe? Color? Shape? Does anything about it change? Etc?

Regards,
LB

Also date and time of observation is necessary

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Hello Mike,

Could be a number of things. Under very good viewing conditions it is possible to see some of the nearer galaxies with the naked eye.

A little more information might be helpful.

You call it a "star", implying that it doesn't move relative to the other stars. Is this accurate? The other stars "move" from east to west during the night - does this one move with them?

Do you recognize any nearby constellations that can be used to help locate it?

What type of night visiion equipment - light amp or infra red? (!! ?? or other ? !!!

Is the "star" visible to the naked eye? Or with binoculars having similar optical power as your night vision equipment?

Do your friends see it, too?

Can it be seen from the ground?

Is it larger than the moon? Andromeda is an eliptical galaxy (like our Milky Way) that can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, and can usually be seen with binoculars. It looks like a very faint fuzzy patch of light about 5 times larger than the moon. (I've never actually seen it myself, but from the big city you do good to see the moon.)

Hmmm. South-southwest, close on the horizon, viewed from several miles up - it could be one of the Magellanic Clouds. There are two, and they are small spherical galaxies usually only visible from the southern hemisphere. But your altitude might compensate.

Does it have any other characteristics that you can describe? Color? Shape? Does anything about it change? Etc?

Regards,
LB


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Mike - you can edit or delete your own post if you want to. When you look at a post you wrote there are two extra buttons at the top of the post for these purposes.

LB