<p>Judging by the time of your post, I would probably say the star you saw was Aldebaran as it was very close to the moon on that night. It's the brightest star in the constellation Taurus so is easily seen close to the moon, where the moonlight washes out the dimmer stars around it. It is normally seen red/orange to the naked eye but atmospheric interference can cause it to 'twinkle' and the influence of the moon's light could possibly make it appear to look slightly different colours depending on its height in the sky. </p>

<p>This to me seems to be the most logical explanation and also seems that this was the most probable star you were seeing that night.</p>

<p>To be sure in future, get a star atlas or even download some apps on your phone to tell you the positions of stars in the sky. It will make stargazing more fun aswell!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-25T16:37:26.037Z
2018-02-25T16:37:26.037Z
MCG
<p>While I was star gazing yesterday in the night time I observed a celestial body( probably a star ) flaunting various colors and was residing near the moon from the angle I saw it. It appeared to be stationary. Any plausible explanations for this phenomenon? Thanks. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T14:28:55.070Z
Stationary relative to the moon or the stars (or something else) ?  What colors ?  Random changes of color or periodic/regular changes of color ?
StephenG - Help Ukraine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T22:39:41.810Z
While the answer is probably "atmospheric twinkling" I don't think there is enough information to answer this. You should use planetarium software to identify the star. You should give the exact time and place. You should describe the brightness of the star (perhaps relative to the brightness of other stars) and how much it flashed (like a twinkle or like an airplane) Please [edit] your post.
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-26T07:13:33.507Z
Possible duplicate of [Star like light moving in the sky, what could it be?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/11634/star-like-light-moving-in-the-sky-what-could-it-be)
J. Chomel
<star><star-systems><star-gazing>
Color changing celestial body near the moon
Sathvik Swaminathan
# Color changing celestial body near the moon

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-23)

While I was star gazing yesterday in the night time I observed a celestial body( probably a star ) flaunting various colors and was residing near the moon from the angle I saw it. It appeared to be stationary. Any plausible explanations for this phenomenon? Thanks.

**Tags:** star, star-systems, star-gazing
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Stationary relative to the moon or the stars (or something else) ?  What colors ?  Random changes of color or periodic/regular changes of color ?  
> **username_2**: While the answer is probably "atmospheric twinkling" I don't think there is enough information to answer this. You should use planetarium software to identify the star. You should give the exact time and place. You should describe the brightness of the star (perhaps relative to the brightness of other stars) and how much it flashed (like a twinkle or like an airplane) Please [edit] your post.  
> **username_3**: Possible duplicate of [Star like light moving in the sky, what could it be?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/11634/star-like-light-moving-in-the-sky-what-could-it-be)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-02-25. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Judging by the time of your post, I would probably say the star you saw was Aldebaran as it was very close to the moon on that night. It's the brightest star in the constellation Taurus so is easily seen close to the moon, where the moonlight washes out the dimmer stars around it. It is normally seen red/orange to the naked eye but atmospheric interference can cause it to 'twinkle' and the influence of the moon's light could possibly make it appear to look slightly different colours depending on its height in the sky.

This to me seems to be the most logical explanation and also seems that this was the most probable star you were seeing that night.

To be sure in future, get a star atlas or even download some apps on your phone to tell you the positions of stars in the sky. It will make stargazing more fun aswell!


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