Venus is back

[Allan]

I know it's been in the night sky for a little while, but with all the thunderstorms and foul weather around here I hadn't spotted it yet. It's clear out tonight and I managed to see it about 5 degrees above the horizon. So the journey begins again for the next 8 months as we get used to the bright planet in the sky at sunset.

[MattT]

I've always found Venus very very dull, except for it's phases
Am I missing something?
Matt

[Allan]

I pretty much agree with you Matt. I rarely spend much time observing it. It's just that I like seeing it in the sky after the sun sets and is normally the first thing to spot as it starts getting dark and the excitement builds for the night ahead.

[dennisjames1]

Nice to find in the Daytime sky i think still a little close to the Sun, ok if you're careful.

[N1 (Mirko)]

Originally Posted by MattT

I've always found Venus very very dull, except for it's phases
Am I missing something?
Matt

Personal taste I suppose. I always enjoy it when I manage to spot & observe it in the daytime, the closer to the Sun the better . Besides 2 observed Transits, the ability of Venus to display an annular phase makes it my fav planet by a considerable margin.

[cjb (Chris)]

I've always been a bit disappointed with Venus from the Adelaide Hills - just a very bright blurry blob really. But then I had a good look at it from the very dark skies at Arkaroola (SA) and it was fantastic! Sharp and steady and you could clearly see the phase - a sight I will always remember

Chris

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by dennisjames1

Nice to find in the Daytime sky i think still a little close to the Sun, ok if you're careful.

I was lucky enough to see a daytime conjunction of Venus and the Moon up at Bretti some time ago. It can be seen easily with binoculars provided you know exactly where to look. It was far enough from the sun to be safe.

[Allan]

Originally Posted by N1

the ability of Venus to display an annular phase makes it my fav planet by a considerable margin.

That's an interesting comment which got me thinking. Venus is one of my least favourite planets. Personally, Jupiter is the cats meow. Big, bright, lots of ever changing detail and colour, and 4 nice moons to add to the spectacle. I would give up every planet if it meant I could keep Jupiter.

[OzStarGazer]

There is a thunderstorm every day after sunset here at the moment...

[N1 (Mirko)]

Originally Posted by Allan

That's an interesting comment which got me thinking. Venus is one of my least favourite planets. Personally, Jupiter is the cats meow. Big, bright, lots of ever changing detail and colour, and 4 nice moons to add to the spectacle. I would give up every planet if it meant I could keep Jupiter.

I'm glad things are the way they are. Imagine everyone preferring the same planet! What would the other planets think?

Thruth be told, I like all of them. It's nice to observe them and think you are actually looking at the surface or cloud deck of another world.

Still, Venus going "full circle" inside of 2 degrees of elongation is one of the most exquisite views I have ever had through the eyepiece. I now also understand that such small separations during inferior conjunctions are actually quite rare. The next opportunity won't come around until 2020 if I remember correctly. You can also see the phase change from one day to the next when it's that thin.

[Neil]

Gotta agree with Allan, Jupiter is tops, on the other hand I like looking at all of them, when the skies are clear.

[Allan]

I saw my second favourite planet, Saturn, for the first time in the morning sky this morning.

[MichaelSW (Michael)]

One of the pleasures of riding my pushbike to work at anywhere from 03:00 - 04:30 in the morning, as I head basically East , is seeing Venus blazing in the morning sky. Magnificent.

Truly a Goddess on the mountain top, Burning like a silver flame…..

It reminds me - "Shocking Blue" on my 20 Dynamic Hits album when I was in Grade 7.

Won't get that again till late August 2015.

[MrAstro (Andrew)]

I love seeing Venus and sometimes Mercury following generally the line of the ecliptic as the sun sets. It's definitely a jewel of the sky.

Visualising the plane of the ecliptic also gives me an impression of my position on the earth ie. usually 34 degrees below the equator in my case.

Forgetting all that stuff though it's just a beautiful object. The phases are cool to see too.