Venus nearly gone

[mikeDnight]

Daylight observation: 100mm refractor 235X.

[mark81]

Very nice sketch Mike... Would you say the illuminated portion stretches further round than say it would on a new moon? 

Mark

[mikeDnight]

3 hours ago, mark81 said:

Very nice sketch Mike... Would you say the illuminated portion stretches further round than say it would on a new moon? 

Mark

Yes I'm pretty sure it does. I think its the Sun's light being refracted through the upper atmosphere leading to an incredibly fine edge to the limb. I'm not sure if I've ever seen it imaged, but I've seen it visually numerous times in the past as the far side nears full illumination. I've attached a daylight sketch that I made back in 2009 using a 120ED that shows the same effect.

[mark81]

Thanks Mike, Thats an interesting effect...and so is being able to see the darker surface of the planet against the lighter sky....

Mark