Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?

Say you are laying in the grass, looking at the stars. You see a small star, is is possible that that star could suddenly get brighter that you can see?Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?Yes.



My limiting magnitude near my horizon is mjuch worse than near my zenith. Although it would take a lot of patience to see a star do that, and the apparent change would be so gradual, you probably wouldn't pick up on it.



Dust particles in the air or very thin cloud cover could accomplish this in more realistic timeframes.



And, of course, if you could watch a varible like Mira for a long enough time, you would see it disappear and reappear, get brighter, fade, and disappear again, cyclically. Of course, Mira isn't the best example, it takes nearly 1 year to complete this cycle.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?
It depends on what you exactly expect. Do you want our atmosphere to influence it's brightness, or do you want the star itself to chance, which you can see.



In the first case, our atmosphere only changes apparent view when the star is near the horizon. It might chance in size and color.



In the second case, the star itself has to undergo a big change, for example a nova or supernova. Or another vast object passing right in front of it.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?Could be anyone of a number things -

Stellar twinkle caused by earth's atmosphere

High thin clouds moving through the area.

A variable star.

A satellite whose solar panels just reflected a bit of sunlight.



without more detailed information (where you live, what you were looking at and so on), hard to say from such a vague description.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?
Yes. As they rise above the dust in the atmosphere they tend to look brighter. Disappearing cloud cover can also make stars look brighter.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?You can't see thin clouds at night except for the dimming effect they have on stars. Also, is it possible the star itself can get suddenly brighter? Yes, but unlikely.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?
You could use binoculars or an SLR camera, or the sky might just get a little bit clearer.Can you see a star get brighter without a telescope?
Yes, if that star is going supernova.
yeah