Solar eclipse, 21 August 2017

[GregW]

You may have seen the planet Mercury. it was just southwest of the Sun and very bright. It is normally hard to see due to the low attitudes and solar glare.


We watched from Baker City, Oregon.

[Ltdumbear]

I ended up doing the same thing in order to watch the eclipse, and I also saw that 'object'. Have been waiting to hear if anybody else would say anything about it. Too big for Mercury, and after visiting several other astronomy sites, they all agreed because she's just too small, too fast-moving and WAY too close to our parent-star to show up so clearly as the 'object' did. I have my thoughts, but I shall remain silent because I am still 'shaken' from the Venus transit in 2012 for various reasons.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Wyomiles

I watched the eclipse from my property just south of Elk Mountain. Not totality but still pretty neat. I didn't have the dark glasses so watched it by focusing a pair of binoculars onto a sheet of paper. At about 95 % I took a look at the sky and noticed something very bright and shiny just off the west side of the sun. At first I thought it was a plain, then maybe the space station, but it didn't move. It was the only one I saw but it was really big. I would say bigger than Venus on a clear night. Really weird! Just wondering if anybody else saw it and if anyone could explain what it was? My brother is into all of that astronomy stuff and he thought it might have been a "daytime star", one that we do not usually see as it is up there in our daytime.

Venus was clearly visible to the west of the eclipse, and Jupiter was clearly visible to the east. Theoretically Mars and Mercury could have been visible too, but I didn't see any trace of them. So my guess is you saw Venus. Venus was remarkably bright.

[Wyomiles]

Thanks for the replies. Just seemed to big to be a planet but that is also what some of the "space/astronomy websites said about it. Either way it was pretty freaky.