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Venus visits the Pleiades
Tonight was the first of two nights that Venus will be within the Pleiades star cluster. I was in luck with a clear western sky following some recent heavy rains.
The naked eye vista was very pretty in the fading twilight with the blazing Venus close to the horizon above the lights of Margate that were casting long reflections in the still waters of Northwest Bay. Venus' reflection was also clearly visible. The lingering twilight was just to much to pick out the Pleiades naked eye.
With 6.5X32 binoculars (9 degree FOV) I could pick out 9 stars with Venus appearing to be part of the cluster. At this stage they were only about 5 degrees above the horizon and before the sky could darken fully, encroaching high cloud dimmed the view.
A successful and enjoyable observation.
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