Venus spotted in daylight

[astromackem]

Just seen Venus in blue sky with the naked eye. Incredible.

Is it at its brightest at the moment?

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, astromackem said:

Just seen Venus in blue sky with the naked eye. Incredible.

Is it at its brightest at the moment?

Amazingly no! It does get a little brighter as it heads back towards the sun in the sky. It's pretty much at maximum elongation though so probably at one of it's better places to be observed in daylight.

[D4N]

The planets can be surprisingly bright in the day if you know where to look.

I have used the sun to align my mount before then slewed to planets, a red filter boosts the contrast a lot.

[Pete Presland]

I have been caught out by Venus during the day. I remember spotting a "silvery disc" in my binoculars one afternoon....  I have imaged Venus a few times in daylight recently due to the conifers getting in the way.

[A budding astronomer]

That's actually a lucky sign! Napoleon Bonaparte seen Venus in daylight before one of his battles which he thought was a sign of luck.

[astromackem]

Thanks all. Good stuff.

It was visible tonight from our house all evening. It looked superb as it got down low on the horizon too.

I can't ever remember seeing the hottest planet so bright.

[LukeSkywatcher]

22 hours ago, astromackem said:

Thanks all. Good stuff.

It was visible tonight from our house all evening. It looked superb as it got down low on the horizon too.

I can't ever remember seeing the hottest planet so bright.

I saw it a week or so before Christmas. I also cant remember ever seeing it so big and bright in my life.

[astromackem]

On Monday, January 09, 2017 at 20:22, LukeSkywatcher said:

I saw it a week or so before Christmas. I also cant remember ever seeing it so big and bright in my life.

One day I thought it was a plane coming in to land. Ridiculous.

[D4N]

Yesterday I pointed into the evening sky and asked my son what he could see, he correctly identified Venus right away.  Not bad for a six year old!

[rockystar]

On 1/11/2017 at 13:12, D4N said:

Yesterday I pointed into the evening sky and asked my son what he could see, he correctly identified Venus right away.  Not bad for a six year old!

My 6 year old is getting the hang of it too - but I have been drilling it into her for the past 6 weeks!

[Les Ewan]

Its always worth while checking your planetarium program for close daylight approaches of the Moon. I've spotted Jupiter a few times as well as Saturn with binoculars using this method.Even stars are visible with a small telescope I've seen Sirius, in the daytime by centring it in the scope while still dark and leaving the motor running.The faintest star I've seen in full daylight was Regulus after the occultation of 23rd May 2007 .The two images were both taken in daylight the first was of Saturn after the occultation on 22nd May 2007 the second was shortly after the occultation of Regulus on May 23rd 2007.Regulus is marked by the arrow and in a 12" Dob appeared remarkably bright and sparkly. 

Les.

[JOC]

Les - you appear to link the above pictures to 'close daylight approaches of the moon'.  Why are the two linked?  Surely its not reflected light off the moon illuminating the planets is it?  Surely that would be illuminating the side facing the moon and we wouldn't see it?  Puzzled here, but very interested in why this apparent link exists.

[rockystar]

@JOC I think it's because it makes them easier to find. The moon will be the only thing visible, so hop from there. I used this technique myself a few weeks ago in the pre-dusk sky, before Venus became visible. Keeps the glare of Venus down

 

[Alan White]

What's a Blue Sky?
Not seen for for oh soooo long!

[goodricke1]

3 hours ago, JOC said:

Les - you appear to link the above pictures to 'close daylight approaches of the moon'.  Why are the two linked?  Surely its not reflected light off the moon illuminating the planets is it?  Surely that would be illuminating the side facing the moon and we wouldn't see it?  Puzzled here, but very interested in why this apparent link exists.

It is because having the moon nearby helps your eyes to focus on infinity rather than focusing on blue sky.

[Stu]

11 minutes ago, goodricke1 said:

It is because having the moon nearby helps your eyes to focus on infinity rather than focusing on blue sky.

That's right. Once you've found them they are much easier to relocate as your eyes are adjusted to the focus. I find that I struggle to find Venus in daylight with the naked eye, but if I locate it with binoculars it then becomes much easier without them too.

[Scooot]

I'm in New Zealand at the moment & was on a hike in Okarito on Wednesday, about 4pm in bright daylight with the moon high above our heads, when one of the group asked what the bright spec was to the left of the moon. After speculating for a bit, and after I'd checked with Sky Safari we realised it was Venus. It was an incredible sighting, the sun sets about 9pm and the sky was as bright and blue as could be. One of the walkers captured it with an image, so there was no doubt. I'd never have guessed it was possible to see with the naked eye under such conditions. Even our guide was astonished.