Two more Venus ob's

[mikeDnight]

Two more visual Venus observations. Both are unfiltered (prism diagonal) views.

[mark81]

Nice observations once again and it's nice to see the written record too. It's something I always try and do but tend to rush...

[Littleguy80]

Excellent sketches and notes, Mike. Shortly after seeing this I went out and had a look at Venus myself. I was using the Equinox 80 with Nagler zoom. I wasn’t able to see the features that you were. I’ll keep trying though, after all, there was once a time that it took 3 sessions for me to find the Beehive cluster! Practise makes perfect  

[mikeDnight]

29 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Excellent sketches and notes, Mike. Shortly after seeing this I went out and had a look at Venus myself. I was using the Equinox 80 with Nagler zoom. I wasn’t able to see the features that you were. I’ll keep trying though, after all, there was once a time that it took 3 sessions for me to find the Beehive cluster! Practise makes perfect  

Thanks chaps!

Neil, I'm not sure how best to advise observing the clouds on Venus. They are almost always the most ghost like wisps extending from the terminator, but the brilliance of the planet virtually blinds them out. Perhapse a variable polarizing filter will help, which is something Peter Grego suggested in his book "VENUS & MERCURY, How To Observe Them" by Springer. Experimenting with coloured filters may help too, but the detail is always at the limit of detectability. To lead you into the subtle detail, you might notice that the cusps are the most brilliant region, then as you study the terminator just next to the cusp, you might detect a slightly darker region bordering the bright cusp. If you can see this, then try looking for very subtle bright spots along the terminator and the contrasting darker wisps leaching out from the terminator. A good size image scale may help, as it reduces the glare somewhat, so don't be afraid to increase the magnification.

Best wishes,

Mike

[Pete Presland]

Excellent sketches and reports.