Anyone ever seen Venus look like this?

[Solphilos]

So, I pulled my telescope out a couple of mornings ago just before dawn, and caught Venus doing something a little quirky. I can't find anything about it online, so I'm hoping someone here knows a little about this phenomena as it's completely new to me.

Here's some pics; They are pretty cruddy, but it's kind of hard focusing a camera into a telescope lens









If anyone can explain this or link me to a website that can, it would be greatly appreciated!

[truthseekerdan]

I'm no expert, but all I know is that a lot of changes are going on in our solar system, Solphilos. Enjoy it while it lasts...

[Richard]

Yes, Venus often appears as a crescent.

[ArtyCarl]

Hi Solphilos, could you describe what you mean by 'quirky'.

[Richard]

The phases of the planet Venus are the different variations of lighting seen on the planet's surface, similar to lunar phases. The first recorded observations of them were telescopic observations by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Although the extreme crescent phase of Venus has been observed with the naked eye there are no indisputable historical pre-telescopic records of it being observed.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_Venus

[kesom]

i was just lookin at venus the other night from birmingham uk through an 150 mm ap skywatcher scope and it looked as it always has but this is defo very interesting
you done well with your camera to even get that shot solphilos

peace and love k

[Solphilos]

Posted by Richard (here)
The phases of the planet Venus are the different variations of lighting seen on the planet's surface, similar to lunar phases. The first recorded observations of them were telescopic observations by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Although the extreme crescent phase of Venus has been observed with the naked eye there are no indisputable historical pre-telescopic records of it being observed.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_Venus

Nice, thanks, that's precisely what I was looking for.
Right there on Wiki, why couldn't I find that? lol.

[MorningSong]

I remember seeing this on spaceweather at the beginning of the month:

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?...h=11&year=2010

DANGEROUS BEAUTY: As November begins, Venus is passing almost directly between Earth and the sun, an event astronomers call "inferior conjunction." The view through a telescope is both beautiful and dangerous. Henry Mendt of Maracaibo, Venezuela, took this daylight picture of Venus only 7o from the blinding sun on Oct. 31st:



Venus is such a slender crescent because the planet's night side is almost-squarely facing Earth. "Only 0.7% of the disk was illuminated," says Mendt, "but the crescent was bright and wide, a full arcminute in diameter. This made Venus easy to find even in the midday sky." Here he describes how he safely targeted Venus using an 8-inch telescope and photographed the planet from inside the shadows of a parking garage.

Venus will become even easier to find in the weeks ahead as it emerges from the glare of the sun into the pre-dawn sky. The crescent will be a little fatter, but much less dangerous and no less beautiful. Stay tuned for the Morning Star.

[DawgBone]

Venus is a symbol of love. Of course it would be changeable!

:--)

[Fredkc]

Having seen Venus bare-breasted with no arms, little would surprise me.