Finest Venus 31/5/20

[mikeDnight]

After finding inspiration from Kerrylewis and his observation yesterday (using go-to), I thought I'd give Venus one last go tonight after the Sun drifted behind some trees. Immediately I was able to pick up the planet in my 35mm Eudiascopic and 100mm refractor.  Increasing the power from 23X to 235X, the ultra thin crescent was simply gorgeous and a little surreal.  I was only able to observe it for a few minutes as Venus was closely following the Sun and soon drifted behind the trees too. I was able to follow it for a little while through the branches. If you can keep the Sun safely out of the field, its well worth taking a look. You can of course cheat and use a go-to!  😆

[JeremyS]

Excellent observation Mike.

Such a tiny crescent!

[paulastro]

Mike.  According to SkySafari pro 6, at the time you observed its vital statistics were m - 3.8, diam 57.6 arcsec and illumination 0.3%.

You give the phase as .005  which is 5/1000 compared with 3/100, which is 30/1000.

Is my maths wrong or are we talking about different things?

🤔

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by paulastro

[mikeDnight]

I merely copied the info in the BAA handbook Paul. It does sound ultra fine doesn't it, but I can't imagine the BAA making a mistake, can you? 😂

Edited June 1, 2020 by mikeDnight

[paulastro]

Thanks  Mike.  I don't suppose the BAA Handbook has many errors, but they did make a bit  of a hash of the dates of the lunar phases in this years edition - at least for January after which I stopped referring to it!

Anyway, I'm sure someone will be able to explain it.  Perhaps out of illumination and phase, perhaps one of them is by diam of the disk and the other the % illuminated by area or then again perhaps not 😄.

Edited June 1, 2020 by paulastro

[paulastro]

Mike, I received this email from spaceweather today, it vindicates your observation if anyone is doubting your observation, which was quite outstanding in my  view.

 

Email removed, see post below.

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by paulastro

[paulastro]

Mike, This is the email.  Im reving the link to the email.

 

Space Weather News for June 2, 2020 https://spaceweather.com https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS: Venus looks like a ring of fire! The 2nd planet is making a close approach to the sun this week--an event astronomers call "inferior conjunction." In fact, it's one of the closest approaches in decades. Astronomers daring enough to observe the event are capturing rare images of Venus backlit by the sun. Visit Spaceweather.com for the full story. Aurora alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and receive a text message when auroras appear in your area. Above: Venus approaching inferior conjunction on June 1, 2020. Photo Credit: Didier Favre of Brétigny-sur-Orge, France

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[mikeDnight]

14 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Mike, This is the email.  Im reving the link to the email.

 

Space Weather News for June 2, 2020 https://spaceweather.com https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS: Venus looks like a ring of fire! The 2nd planet is making a close approach to the sun this week--an event astronomers call "inferior conjunction." In fact, it's one of the closest approaches in decades. Astronomers daring enough to observe the event are capturing rare images of Venus backlit by the sun. Visit Spaceweather.com for the full story. Aurora alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and receive a text message when auroras appear in your area. Above: Venus approaching inferior conjunction on June 1, 2020. Photo Credit: Didier Favre of Brétigny-sur-Orge, France

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That's a fantastic image Paul. Amazing in fact!!  And thankyou for remembering my observation.  Visually it was much thinner, but i supose thats the difficulty when trying to image something so bright and slender. Credit here has to go to Didier Favre for his imaging skill ! 

[paulastro]

And here's the fuller version without the pic on the web site.

INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF VENUS: Tomorrow, June 3rd, Venus will pass almost directly between the Earth and the sun. This is having a strange effect on the planet's shape. "It is like a ring of fire," says Didier Favre, who sends this picture from Brétigny-sur-Orge, France:

When Favre took the picture on June 1st, the sun was only 2 degrees from Venus–hence the blue sky. "It was not an easy picture to take," says Favre, "but what a beautiful view!"

Why does Venus look like a ring? Simple: The planet's nightside is facing Earth. Sunlight filtering through the edge of Venus’s carbon dioxide atmosphere forms a luminous ring around the dark disk.

Astronomers call this an "inferior conjunction of Venus," and it's one of the best in decades. At closest approach on June 3rd, Venus will be 29 arcminutes (about half a degree) from the center of the solar disk. Only twice since 1961 has Venus come closer–during the famous Venus Transits of 2004 and 2012 [ref].

Observing Venus at this time is dangerous. With the sun just a fraction of a degree away, it is easy for stray sunlight to sneak into optical systems, damaging sensitive electronics and hurting human eyes. Only skilled observers taking careful precautions should attempt it.

 

WARNING - PLEASE READ THE WARNING ABOVE - IT IS DANGEROUS TO ATTEMPT OBSEVATIONS SO CLOSE TO THE SUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!