[Tinderboxsky (Steve)]

Venus was showing a fine jewel like crescent last weekend during the Astronomical Society of Tasmania's Orana Star party.

It was easy to find Venus’s position relative to the Sun and the crescent Moon early in the afternoon using the 8X50 finderscope. The view through my 140mm refractor at 62X was glorious - a fine white sliver of a crescent against the fine blue sky background. I find these views more appealing than after sunset when the brightness of Venus overwhelms the field of view.

I very quickly had a long queue of interested observers. Interesting not one attendee had ever thought of observing Venus during the day. A couple of newer members were convinced I was showing them the Moon.

I then had a quick session to help many of the attendees spot Venus through binoculars. We did not have any naked eye observations, despite the crescent Moon being nearby to help with focusing observer’s eyes on infinity.