https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211114.html
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 w
ritten by a professional astronomer.
2021 November 14
The illustration shows a decision tree showing how to identify bright
lights that you might see in the night sky. 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? Perhaps one of humanity's
more common questions, an answer may result 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 din 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: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Kannada, Latvian,
Norwegian, and Turkish
Tomorrow's picture: volcanic light pillar
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