147 replies to this topic

[Dave Mitsky]

Mariano Ribas captured a great image of a 3%-illuminated Venus on March 15th.

 

https://spaceweather...pload_id=221153

 

https://www.spacewea...th=03&year=2025

[RMay]

Mariano Ribas captured a great image of a 3%-illuminated Venus on March 15th.

https://spaceweather...pload_id=221153

https://www.spacewea...th=03&year=2025

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing… I’m not even sure if we’ll have clear skies between now and the 22nd. We’ll see…

Again, a great shot.

Ron

[RMay]

Here is the first capture (for me) of Venus as a morning target. It rose at 6:55am local time and I spotted it at 6:59; this image was taken at 7:00am, 11 minutes before sunrise. iPhone to my Questar 3.5 at 87.5x magnification.

 

Ron

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[PKDfan]

At Last ! After several days of winter a day mostly sunny and had some hope and despite some thin cirrus and clear patches Venus had moved much further to the horizon and at first guaging where i could find it was tough as it had moved much further in that period than the same period of last window of views.

Very obliquely tilted and more than half lit semicircle. With it so near the horizon the roiling atmosphere caused some neat diffraction effects with mostly red 'dots' of spectral blur steaming off the illuminated part.

I couldn't find mercury amid the building clouds.


Fairy bright naked eye, my view west is blocked with cinder block wall that i use to block hwy lights and it had moved much below it in those few days.

I used my invaluable B&L spotter and 6×20 bins thinking it was fainter than what it was.

Hoping to catch inferiour conjunction soon.

I may have to find a clear horizon and guerilla astronomy it with the spotter and fluid head tripod.


CSS
Lance

Edited by PKDfan, 18 March 2025 - 10:02 PM.

[Dave Mitsky]

I had what will most likely be my last nighttime view of Venus, without optical aid and with my Canon 15x50 IS, on Monday night from a location with a great western horizon.

[RMay]

Venus was about 5° above the horizon when the sun set, so it was in the trees, but still a fairly easy grab. This image was taken at 7:22 PM local time, approximately seven minutes after sunset. As an aside, I thought it was quite remarkable that even at low power (and in a crappy snapshot), the crescent was visible.

 

(I also tried looking for it mid-afternoon, but there was a lot of haze in the air and I just couldn’t find it.)

 

Ron

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[Special Ed]

Here is the view from yesterday afternoon, the 18th, through my C14 @ 230x.  These were taken with my Samsung A53 smartphone and holder about 5:10pm EDT when Venus was at an altitude of 34 degrees and 10 degrees separation from the Sun.  Seeing was below average.

 

Through the eyepiece, the crescent was *much* thinner than my last look a week ago.  The second pic uses the 2x digital zoom on my phone. 

 

 

Edited by Special Ed, 19 March 2025 - 06:47 AM.

[PKDfan]

I was out for a few minutes with some lucky seeing.

All day it was heavily overcast then about an hour before sunset it began to clear off enough that i had some hope.

I used my 12×40's to find it amidst and inbetween some thin lateral clouds and found the very thin crescent tilted obliquely. A good view.

I then busted out the 60mm B&L at about 45X and had a couple more minutes before it entered the clouds lying near the horizon.


Fingers crossed for the next few days !



CSS
Lance

[Tom Laskowski]

I was able to see Venus easily in 10x50 binoculars last night just 5 minutes after sunset at 8:02 pm EDT and again this morning just before sunrise at 7:45 am EDT. It's far enough north of the Sun that it is visible as a "Morning Star" and "Evening Star" even though it was not visible naked-eye (at least for me).

[PKDfan]

Perfectly clear sky except for the ten degrees near the horizon.

Sigh beautifully clear skies all over except where Venus is.


CSS
Lance

[RMay]

We’ve had dreadful weather these past few days. Clouds are in the forecast for tomorrow, as well, but the morning view, if there is any, will probably be my only hope to snag it.

We’ll see…

Ron

[RMay]

A bit late to the party but I snagged it rising into clouds this morning at 6:49am local time. Also including a pic of the sky I was dealing with when I caught it… you know… for sympathy points. 😉

Ron

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Edited by RMay, 23 March 2025 - 10:02 AM.

[RMay]

… and, if you’re wondering…

 

😉

 

Ron

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Edited by RMay, 23 March 2025 - 10:57 AM.

[PKDfan]

… and, if you’re wondering…

😉

Ron

Lol Those are light fluff Ron compared to my last two evenings.

Perfect sky conditions except for ten degrees off the west horizon. Exactly the same conditions from the day before...i hear someone laughing uproarously somewhere.

Not very nice of Mother Nature to play a prank like that if i'm being completely honest.

I'll try not to have a grudge for long though or i might never see clear steady skies again.


Lance

[RMay]

Lol Those are light fluff Ron compared to my last two evenings.

Lance

Hi Lance, I’m completely sympathetic; it’s been terrible here, for sure. The sky this morning was only fair (I was just glad to see it, in all honesty), but it cleared up and I was able to use the Sun as a guide to find it again at 11:09 this morning.

 

Keep hunting; sending wishes for clear skies…

 

Ron

 

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[PKDfan]

Hi Lance, I’m completely sympathetic; it’s been terrible here, for sure. The sky this morning was only fair (I was just glad to see it, in all honesty), but it cleared up and I was able to use the Sun as a guide to find it again at 11:09 this morning.

Keep hunting; sending wishes for clear skies…

Ron

Hey Ron, Thank You you too !!

I was thinking of your early morning Venus views but alas even my eastern horizon is blocked so I'm doubly snookered.

I'm Very thankful for this thread as i got in more Venus views than i've ever had in my entire life and if clouds win from now on i'm still going to call it a BIG win for me.

Good Luck to us and all for sure please more sweet Venus views amd now that i've got the bit in my teeth and seen some cloud detail when it was near gibbous phase and that was wholly unexpected !

I'm now ready to dedicate serious apo-time to Her.

I gotta say my Bausch & Lomb 60mm spotter is liquid gold next to my two apo jewels. I get surprised almost everytime i use it.



Clear Steady Skies
Lance
Edit that a MARVELOUS photo !

Edited by PKDfan, 23 March 2025 - 01:48 PM.

[Special Ed]

That last shot looks pretty good, Ron.  I've been battling clouds too--and even worse, very poor seeing and gusty winds.  I took this rather sorry shot with my phone through the C14 yesterday around 4:50 pm EDT.  The seeing caused the crescent to look thicker than it actually appeared visually.

 

This was about 10 hours before inferior conjunction.  Venus was 58.5" in apparent diameter, 1% illuminated, mag -4.0, altitude 34 degrees.

 

[RMay]

That last shot looks pretty good, Ron. I've been battling clouds too--and even worse, very poor seeing and gusty winds. I took this rather sorry shot with my phone through the C14 yesterday around 4:50 pm EDT.


resize_rotate_Venus_2025.03.22_2x.jpg

Hi Mike, thanks for the kind words. I understand your pic issues, but at least you grabbed it, which is terrific.

As a ‘public service announcement’ I’d like to mention that iPhone picture editing now includes a ‘cleanup’ feature that allows us to get rid of those pesky little rings in our pictures without destroying the image.

You might give it a try; it has worked for me and I’m quite happy with it.

Ron

[Special Ed]

Thanks, Ron.  That clean up feature sounds good, but I have an android os.

[RMay]

Thanks, Ron. That clean up feature sounds good, but I have an android os.

Gotcha…

Ron

[RMay]

Taken today at 10:15am Pacific. About 8° above the sun, an easy grab.

 

Ron

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[Special Ed]

That is a nice one, Ron!

[RMay]

That is a nice one, Ron!

Thank you!

Ron