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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Venus
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2005 Dec 10, 19:46 EST
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2005 Dec 10, 19:46 EST
George H, you wrote: "That's interesting. I would like to know the circumstances, and with what instrument, Frank made that observation, when Venus was only 8 degrees North of the Sun (ecliptically speaking)." A fairly ordinary six-inch reflecting telescope with magnification around 75x on an equatorial mount with basic RA/Dec setting circles. The trick is to look for Venus, in daylight around high noon. You aim the telescope at the Sun, projecting the Sun's image, not looking directly. Then adjust for the setting circles to match the Sun's position, and offset from there to Venus. As long as the sky is very clear, Venus is visible immediately. -FER 42.0N 87.7W, or 41.4N 72.1W. www.HistoricalAtlas.com/lunars
