[Utah-astronomy] Moon/Venus

That was a very close pairing tonight; very beautiful and soul-stirring. I watched Venus set behind a distant roof-line. It was interesting in that it didn't wink-out immediately, like a star does during a lunar occultation. It took a couple of seconds to dim and finally disappear; proof that it subtends a measurable angle and not a point source. As Venus approaches superior conjunction, it will swell to a minute of arc in apparent diameter- this is large enough for sharp-eyed individuals to detect the crescent shape. Use a neutral-density (or "moon") filter to dim the dazzling brilliance, and try to see the disk of another planet without a telescope.