Venus in the daytime

[rockystar]

I heard recently that Sirius was visible in the day time, if you know where to look. Well Venus is much brighter than Sirius, so it must be easy right.

So clear skies when I got home prompted me to give it a go. The sun was still above the horizon, but had gone behind the houses, I had a reasonable idea where it should be and used the sun as a pointer.

Not as easy as I thought it would be, with nothing but blue skies as a guide; it took me a few minutes looking around, but eventually it popped out really brightly and I wondered how I couldn't see it earlier. Went in for the binocular, and it took a bit of finding again, but not as long this time, you could clearly see where it was pointing to the sun, and with the yellow glow still there, it really framed it well showing which side was illuminated.

A quick look at the moon before I had to collect my boy, and hopefully it'll stay clear for a bit of a session when the kids are in bed.

 

[kerrylewis]

Nice one. I always enjoy finding Venus in daylight but no chance here today. And isn't funny that such targets are difficult to find at first and then when you do you wonder how you missed it? I haven't seen to for a few days but the crescent must be really good now.

 

[JOC]

I don't know about the daytime, but a good few weeks ago now I did catch Venus quite early on in the evening way before it was properly dark.  When you say the 'daytime' do you literally mean the middle of the day when the sun is still well up etc.?  I can easily imagine that finding her then can't be at all easy!

[kerrylewis]

8 minutes ago, JOC said:

I don't know about the daytime, but a good few weeks ago now I did catch Venus quite early on in the evening way before it was properly dark.  When you say the 'daytime' do you literally mean the middle of the day when the sun is still well up etc.?  I can easily imagine that finding her then can't be at all easy!

I usually take it to mean that the sun is still well above the horizon - say still at least an hour from setting? 

[rockystar]

yeah, Kerry's got it. It was about 5:30, so still very light and about an hour before it set.

[JOC]

That was probably slightly earlier than when I saw her, but I thought how neat it was to see her out so early - in fact I recall using it that afternoon to line up the finderscope on as I often run short of objects that are far enough away to do it and thought whilst I could still see what I was doing that afternoon she would make a useful object for that purpose!

[Pete Presland]

I managed to spot it again to tonight at around 5pm, it was at least 30 degrees above the horizon, the sun probably 5-10 degrees I guess. Tricky to spot with the naked, but when you find it in the binoculars you will wonder why. I think its just difficult for your eye to focus on something when you don't know where it is.

I also crouch behind the shed to block out the sun and allow my eyes to adjust a little.  

[alan potts]

I have found Venus a few times during the day, and Jupiter. I also found Mercury when the sun was setting but I guess that don't count.

[mdstuart]

Venus is stunning at the moment in the daytime. Lovely crescent.

Mark

 

[DHEB]

On 3/8/2017 at 19:18, rockystar said:

Not as easy as I thought it would be, with nothing but blue skies as a guide; it took me a few minutes looking around, but eventually it popped out really brightly and I wondered how I couldn't see it earlier.

Exactly! I also agree will all others in this thread who basically tell the same.

Spotting Venus right in the middle of the day, under a bright Sun, without any other aid than your eyes and your knowledge of the sky, is not only possible, it is one of the great pleasures of being an amateur astronomer and enjoying the sky.

Cheers!

[A budding astronomer]

Usually when I'm waiting for my Mam to pick me up from school and it's clear outside, I try to find Venus in the daylight. But my classmates think I'm wierd staring at the sky.