<p>Most likely it's Jupiter.  According to the software I use to run my telescope and plan my observations, Jupiter rose at about 6:40 pm and set the following day at about 8:30 am.  It would have been about -2.6 magnitude ,making it the brightest natural object in the sky that night.  It, of course, rose in the east and would have traveled in an arc across the sky that dipped a little south.</p>

<p>It could also have been Betelgeuse, or even Sirius (for Sirius, it would probably  need to be fairly low in the sky when the picture was taken to account for the color). But my best guess is still Jupiter.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-25T21:59:57.120Z
2016-01-25T21:59:57.120Z
J.M. Haynes
<p>I observed this when I was playing around with an amateur (crappy) telescope. The picture was taken using a dslr attached to the telescope.</p>

<p>It was taken in San Francisco on 2015-01-20. I don't remember the direction but I would guess it was pointing East-South East - that's the only direction which has a clear visibility from where I took this.</p>

<p>Could anyone identify what I am looking at here? </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0URWZ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0URWZ.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Note:  I'm not discounting the fact that it could have been an aberration in the telescope or the camera.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T22:04:14.373Z
Do you know enough about the characteristics of the telescope and camera to estimate the angular size of the object? Can you estimate more precisely when and where you took the photo, and where in the sky the scope was pointing at the time?
Keith Thompson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T22:57:38.807Z
It was taken in San Francisco. It was taken exactly an year ago (2015-01-20). I don't remember the direction but I would guess it was pointing East-South East - that's the only direction which has a clear visibility from where I took this.
sankara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T22:58:39.423Z
Also, I'm not discounting the fact that it could have been an aberration in the telescope or the camera.
sankara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-26T10:35:00.730Z
Could be an unsharp image of a lamp, an aeroplane, the Moon, a star, a planet, whatever. I don't think it's iikely that this can ever be identified uniquely.
Gerald
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-27T05:33:31.760Z
1/20 was wednesday. It was raining down in San Jose that night. Could be a plane coming in through a low cloud layer or a drop of water on the lens distorting some other ordinary light in the sky.
Wayfaring Stranger
<near-earth-object>
Identify this object
sankara
# Identify this object

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-20)

I observed this when I was playing around with an amateur (crappy) telescope. The picture was taken using a dslr attached to the telescope.

It was taken in San Francisco on 2015-01-20. I don't remember the direction but I would guess it was pointing East-South East - that's the only direction which has a clear visibility from where I took this.

Could anyone identify what I am looking at here?

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/0URWZ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/0URWZ.jpg)

Note: I'm not discounting the fact that it could have been an aberration in the telescope or the camera.

**Tags:** near-earth-object

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Do you know enough about the characteristics of the telescope and camera to estimate the angular size of the object? Can you estimate more precisely when and where you took the photo, and where in the sky the scope was pointing at the time?  
> **username_0**: It was taken in San Francisco. It was taken exactly an year ago (2015-01-20). I don't remember the direction but I would guess it was pointing East-South East - that's the only direction which has a clear visibility from where I took this.  
> **username_0**: Also, I'm not discounting the fact that it could have been an aberration in the telescope or the camera.  
> **username_2**: Could be an unsharp image of a lamp, an aeroplane, the Moon, a star, a planet, whatever. I don't think it's iikely that this can ever be identified uniquely.  
> **username_3**: 1/20 was wednesday. It was raining down in San Jose that night. Could be a plane coming in through a low cloud layer or a drop of water on the lens distorting some other ordinary light in the sky.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-01-25. Score: 2

Most likely it's Jupiter. According to the software I use to run my telescope and plan my observations, Jupiter rose at about 6:40 pm and set the following day at about 8:30 am. It would have been about -2.6 magnitude ,making it the brightest natural object in the sky that night. It, of course, rose in the east and would have traveled in an arc across the sky that dipped a little south.

It could also have been Betelgeuse, or even Sirius (for Sirius, it would probably need to be fairly low in the sky when the picture was taken to account for the color). But my best guess is still Jupiter.


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