Venus 26th July at 8:55pm

Similar to what I could see in the 26mm eyepiece through the 5'' ETX.
This image came out a little disappointing
(It probably has something to do with the fact that I shot it through the upstairs double glazed window!)

I'm not sure how much closer to the Sun I would be comfortable viewing / shooting this.

Howsoever, it was cool to see the planet has grown so much in such a shor period of time.

the phase has seriously reduced, a pity we missed it over the last moth or so. Its south of the sun now, so making ti difficult to catch it at sunset.
Double glazing never helps :lol:

Hi Frank,
Very nice image.One tip you are better of holding out till 19.30hrs to image Venus it's alot cooler in the day .Double glazing my god what sort of Astronomer are you :lol:

I was (trying) to be sarcastic!
(with the ''it was probably due to..'' comment!)

Shur you know I wasn't going for a beauty shot,
just a quick capture to get a feel for the shape of the phase and to see
how big it's gotten lately.

It seems to be clear tonight so I might give it a try minus the window!
(Now..if they could only make double glazing units with an UHTC we'd be laughin')

As for the time, are you saying image it earlier in the evening?

Heres one from this evening (29th July) from 8PM.
(No double glazed window this time )






Its deadly hard to locate now.
But it's a bit of a buzz when you do spot it.

From visual observation I reckon you can see the phase change in just 2 nights.
I also had a brief impression that the planet was lighter than the surrounding
sky!
Ashen light? - Me thinks its just an optical illusion.
I even thought I could see the tips of the crescent run an almost full circle
around the globe.

Ah, MUCH better Frank!