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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Venus coorection
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2005 Dec 10, 08:02 -0000
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2005 Dec 10, 08:02 -0000
Bill is worrying away about something he will never be able to see. Yes, as he says, at or very near conjunction, because of the phase of its illumination, the light-centre of Venus will be displaced up or down, with respect to the ecliptic, in ecliptic latitude. This differs from its usual displacement, which is mostly in ecliptic longitude. Venus conjunctions occur regularly, but when the planet gets anywhere near the Sun, it's lost to view, and the last you will see is a twinkle in the sky near the horizan at dusk, rather like the occasional glimpse you can get of Mercury. Herbert was making the point that the only time you can SEE Venus at or near conjunction is when it actually gets in front of the Sun at a TRANSIT, and gave the date for that transit. George.
