daylight viewing

[tommyrob688]

hi, with all the talk about the night sky i was wondering if observing planets during the day was possible and which would be the best targets.

[Stu]

Certainly possible, and the best candidates are Venus and Jupiter. Finding them is the hard part. You need to be very careful not look at the sun accidentally, so it's best to try from somewhere where the sun is blocked by a house or building.

I've found Jupiter at 2pm (using goto!) before, and tracked it all the way through until darkness. The contrast is much lower during the dark, but great to see. It's actually interesting to see the contrast increase as the day progresses, it's hard to tell that the sky is getting darker because your eye compensates for it, but you can see the extra detail coming through.

Venus is often better observed in twilight anyway as it is so bright. Again, it's closer to the Sun normally so be careful!

[Size9Hex]

The moon passes each planet once every lunar cycle. As it comes near the planet you're looking for, it gives you a great indication of where in the sky to look, assuming you don't have go-to.

Be warned. Once you've seen a planet during daytime, you're never allowed to complain about light pollution ever again.

Good luck :-)

[BritAngler]

+1 for the Moon.

And don't forget a solar filter for safe viewing of the Sun

[tommyrob688]

thanks for advice everybody. it just gives even more options.

[Drop Of Sun]

+1 for Moon and +1 to be extremely careful about the sun, even a finder scope can be dangerous with the sun. Depending on your scope, another option is to get a safety solar filter and observe the sun (remembering to remove or cover the finder scope):

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/astrozap-baader-solar-filter.html

[BritAngler]

By solar filter, I do of course mean the Baader solar film type, not a filter that you put on the eyepiece. Those things are dangerous and should be broken and dumped in the bin asap

[Pete Presland]

I have observed Venus quite a few times during the day and Jupiter as well, but usually located before dawn though. Venus also caught me out one afternoon during a solar session. I was casually scanning the sky/surrounding area with my Binoculars when i spotted what looked like a "silver sphere" disappearing behind the moving clouds.....  It was a good 30 minutes before the penny finally dropped 

[D4N]

When I have observed in the day I have used the moon or sun (with solar filter) to align the goto then slewed to the planet.

A red filter helps improve contrast as it makes the sky appear black.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mr Spock]

Many years ago I saw venus naked eye during the day. Hard to find but once you have it located it, it pops out a lot more easily than you would think.

[Demonperformer]

There will actually be a great opportunity to view Mercury during the day on 9th May next year (and it's a Saturday!) - but you will definitely need a solar filter, as it will be transitting the sun.

[Pete Presland]

There will actually be a great opportunity to view Mercury during the day on 9th May next year (and it's a Saturday!) - but you will definitely need a solar filter, as it will be transitting the sun.

I noticed this and have made a note in the diary, weather permitting I believe it is a long duration event as well.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

[Norfolk star gazer]

I have see Venus in the afternoon, but only because I was at a star party event and someone was tracking it.

Saw Jupiter this morning from about 7 till 9 and the detail was a lot clearer than when I saw it at 1am.

Couldn't see the red spot though.