Howard, you are exactly right implying that photos can't do it justice- it's not your technique at all, it's just a fact of life. A photo will never match the real-life, naked-eye view. I even had my camera handy; I had been shooting a performance of my daughter's at the high school, but I didn't even try. Venus still isn't as large as it's going to get near superior conjunction. That's when you should try and spot the thin, but large and bright crescent. It will be very close to the sun then and the observing window will be short, but it will be at maximun angular diameter when closest to earth. On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 2:04 AM, Howard Jackman <sumoetx@yahoo.com> wrote:
Couldn't agree more Chuck, It was beautiful! I wasn't aware of this pairing until I stepped out of work tonight (Fridays are early nights - whoo hoo!) Had a few co-workers let out "Wow"s which is always fun to hear, and then they turned to me to explain what it is they're impressed by. (I've sorta got a rep at work for these types of things) Anyways I rushed home and set up the 'ol trusty digicam on a tripod and fired off a few quick shots before dinner I've included 2 in my gallery here: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=167 Nothing special or jaw dropping at all, the naked eye view was much more impressive. But the kids looked at it with me and that was worth a few minutes in the cold. Chuck I've always wanted to try and see Venus's crescent naked eye but thought I'd have to try and see it in daylight/dusk settings never thought to use a moon filter thanks for that tip I'll try it out!!