Sounds to me you have a star. Granted, Jupiter is above and to the "left" of Orion this time of year, but in essence that is right. Jupiter nearly reaches zenith (looking straight up) and is the brightest object (except the moon) in the night sky. Saturn is nearby in Taurus very near the star Aldebaran. When looking at a bright star, no matter what power you use, you will only get a bright pinpoint of light. If you were seeing Jupiter, even in a 114, you would notice that the light is actually a round disk. At lower powers, you can easily see all or some of the moons of Jupiter. They look like small stars, but very bright and they are staggered in a crooked line on either side or both sides of the planets. At a medium power, you should see the bands of the planets surface. I guess you could call then "stripes"....same difference.

Perhaps you were looking at Betelguese or Procyon...I don't know. But the description you posted sounds like a star instead of Jupiter.

Go out at dark and look nearly straight up. Find the brightest "star"...that should be Jupiter. The other "very bright" objects are Saturn and Sirius...those three objects can be comparable as the "brightest" in that part of the sky. Good Luck!!

• Thanks - tech43 - March 16, 2002 - 20:09 UTC