VENUS SATURDAY EVENING

[paulastro]

Out at 7.18 pm but didnt pick up Venus until 9.13pm due to 80% cloud moving very quickly in the high winds. I observed until 9.44pm when it set behind a distant tree!

It looked fabulous in the SW 80ED, a strikingly thin crescent only 4.2% illuminated and a whopping 54.5 arcseconds, mag -4.2.  I didnt see Mercury due to a layer of thin cloud, and of course it wasn't that dark, civil dusk not occurring until 22.05pm.

Attached pick is a screen shot from SkySafari pro 6 taken at the time.

 

[John]

Very nice.

I'm going to try and glimpse Venus again this evening. Might be my last chance for quite a while !

[paulastro]

19 minutes ago, John said:

Very nice.

I'm going to try and glimpse Venus again this evening. Might be my last chance for quite a while !

Thanks and good luck for this evening John.  I'll be doing the same until it's not possible to see it any longer.  The weather looks as if many of us should at least have a chance over the next few days.  At the moment its blanket cloud cover but I'm always hopeful. 🙂

Edited May 24, 2020 by paulastro

[Stu]

 Nice one Paul. I’m hoping for at least one more view before we lose it. Getting pretty tricky here with trees and houses. Might have to take a little scope for a walk into the heath..... they do need exercise you know 😉

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Might have to take a little scope for a walk into the heath..... they do need exercise you know 😉

Make sure you keep it on a short leash.

And watch out if a small Tak comes sniffing around, Stu: you've got enough scopes 🙂

Edited May 24, 2020 by JeremyS

[Hals]

Just been looking at Venus and Mercury through the 10-inch Dob. Venus is a beautifully thin crescent and Mercury a tiny copper coloured gibbous disk. Glad I managed to catch them before they drop below the trees to my west. Also got a very thin crescent Moon so a nice prelude to tonight's session.

[John]

Nice to see all three here as well with my Vixen 102 ED

4.5% illuminated Moon and 3.5% illuminated Venus. Slim but lovely.