Venus - Inferior Conjunction
In 2012, we had a good run of reasonably clear weather. I was able to get pictures of Venus as it was passing between the Earth and the Sun - a transit. Unfortunately, on the day of the transit, we had clouds. However, there's still something intersting to see.
The pictures below were taken every few days from May 7 to June 8, using an 90mm f/8.8 refractor and a Meade LPI camera. All the picutres were taken in the afternoon, after work. In the earlier pictures, Venus was farther from the sun, and therefore higher in the sky. Notice that the crescent is getting thinner as Venus moves between ther Earth and the Sun, but also that Venus is getting bigger becuase it is getting closer to Earth.
The last two pictures show the effects of Venus being lower in the sky, but also nearing the hot roof of the neighbour’s house.
The transit was on June 5, the day we had rain and we can see Venus on opposite sides of the Sun. Venus was a little less than 5 degrees from the Sun for these pictures and we can see the clouds being lit by sunlight travelling through Venus' atmosphere.
In 2017, I'm doing the same thing again. This time, I'm using a Meade 14" SCT, and an iPod Touch held up to the eyepiece (18mm Televue Radian). Venus is getting bigger, thinner, and pointing towards the sunlight.
Closest approach is on March 25, about 8 degrees from the Sun.
Closest approach is on March 25, about 8 degrees from the Sun.