very close to it in the sky; far brighter than any other. Anyone know what it is at 7am this New Year's Eve?

JK2006 wrote:
very close to it in the sky; far brighter than any other. Anyone know what it is at 7am this New Year's Eve?

Its the new Yanker satellite, JK - they use it to direct their drones to hit unarmed wedding parties in Afghanistan.

I guess it would be the planet Venus and not a star at all. Venus is currently the third brightest object in the sky (after the sun and moon of course) and is easily visible in the early hours of the morning from the UK, until mid May 2011.

Isn't there a loose rule that says planets shine and stars shimmer?

JK2006 wrote:
very close to it in the sky; far brighter than any other. Anyone know what it is at 7am this New Year's Eve?

You may want to watch this, JK -

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xcp7d (but I still think it will turn out to abe a Yanker satellite).

RedDogUK wrote:
I guess it would be the planet Venus and not a star at all.

No. In fact, its the International Space Station (ISS) which has almost an acre of solar panels - and is the second brightest (after the moon) in the night and early morning skies. On-orbit construction started in 1998 and the ISS is expected to be in operation until 2015.

Danielle wrote:
International Space Station (ISS) - the second brightest (after the moon) in the night and early morning skies

This is true Danielle

Apart from the solar panels, the reason why its so bright (I can see it now in Sussex) is that its only c200 miles from here

So it is

a. the ISS

b. Venus

c. A large Satellite

Take you pick JK

If it flashes and spins then it is none of the above I might add. The shape shifting "star" was around in early December and many have reported seeing it.......and that was before the ISS was in this orbit and before Venus was in the ascendant.

Stargazing on BBC has been good tonight and enjoy the eclipse tomorrow morning if you can see it.

BR wrote:
......and that was before the ISS was in this orbit

Incorrect. The ISS is only 're-boosted' every few months and has now had the same orbit since September 2010.

Every day it decays steadily and the re-boosting is required to stop it burning up in the earth's atmosphere. Satellites further away do not require this and can have orbits altered more easily; however, access to the ISS (by humans) is much easier because of its proximity to earth.

Around the corner - in real terms!

ISS on Stargazing tonight. Pretty but not bright/

BR wrote:
Pretty but not bright

The lego-like/spindly ISS is not, in my view, pretty - nor was it meant to be; functionality was the key factor for its short life. But, it is now (as most observatories have confirmed) the brightest in the night sky - only after the moon.