Venus
At first glance, if Earth had a twin, it would be Venus. The two planets are similar in size, mass, composition, and distance from the Sun. But there the similarities end. Venus has no ocean. Venus is covered by thick, rapidly spinning clouds that trap surface heat, creating a greenhouse-like world. Because Venus reflects so much sunlight, it is usually the brightest planet in the sky.
The atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide, droplets of sulfuric acid, and virtually no water vapor. In addition, the thick atmosphere allows the Sun's heat in but does not allow it to escape, resulting in surface temperatures over 450 °C. The high density of the atmosphere results in a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth. In the upper layers, the clouds move faster than hurricane- force winds on Earth.
Venus rotates on its axis once every 243 Earth days, while it orbits the Sun every 225 days - its day is longer than its year! Besides that, Venus rotates retrograde. The spinning in the opposite direction of its orbit around the Sun.
|
Phases of Venus
|
Since Venus is an inferior planet, it shows phases when viewed with a telescope. The apperent diameter of Venus changes during it's orbit from approximately 10" during superior conjuction, 25" during elongation to 60" during inferior conjuction (invisible).
|
| All the Venus images are resized to the same scale in order to show the change in diameter during it's orbit. |
 |
July 17, 2004 @ 08:54 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -2.5 |
60 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.4666 AU |
1/100 sec exposure @ 15fps |
| Diameter : 36.1” |
Gain : 10%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +49°03' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 0% |
| CM : 330.68° ; Phase : 29.0% |
The 100 best images are stacked |
 |
The Venus transit of June 8th 2004.
Click on the image for more images and information. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The changing appearence of Venus during spring 2004.
Click on the image for an enlargement. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
May 21, 2004 @ 18:07 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -0.5 |
120 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.3340 AU |
1/25 sec exposure @ 5fps |
| Diameter : 50.4” |
Gain : 10%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +50°13' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 0% |
| CM : 43.25° ; Phase : 9.7% |
The 300 best images are stacked |
 |
May 14, 2004 @ 18:59 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -1.4 |
120 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.3713 AU |
1/33 sec exposure @ 5fps |
| Diameter : 45.3” |
Gain : 0%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +47°11' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 50% |
| CM : 53.47° ; Phase : 16.4% |
The 300 best images are stacked |
 |
May 5, 2004 @ 17:56 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -2.2 |
120 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.4289 AU |
1/100 sec exposure @ 5fps |
| Diameter : 39.2” |
Gain : 10%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +33°38' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 50% |
| CM : 69.21° ; Phase : 24.7% |
The 300 best images are stacked |
 |
April 16, 2004 @ 19:08 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -3.1 |
120 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.5687 AU |
1/50 sec exposure @ 5fps |
| Diameter : 29.6” |
Gain : 15%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +33°38' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 50% |
| CM : 109.23° ; Phase : 39.8% |
The 300 best images are stacked |
 |
April 7, 2004 @ 18:57 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -3.3 |
90 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.6382 AU |
1/100 sec exposure @ 5fps |
| Diameter : 26.4” |
Gain : 5%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +26°20' |
Gamma : 50%, Saturation : 50% |
| CM : 130.20° ; Phase : 45.7% |
The 100 best images are stacked |
 |
March 28, 2004 @ 18:56 UT |
|---|
| Picture maThe with a 6” Newton Telescope and a Philips ToUcam 740K + Baader IRB filter. The effective focal length used was 3600mm, N=24.0 (eyepiece projection with a 17mm Plössl). |
|---|
| Magnitude : -3.5 |
30 sec AVI maThe with K3CCDTools |
| Distance : 0.7162 AU |
1/100 sec exposure @ 15fps |
| Diameter : 23.5” |
Gain : 10%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude : +32°40' |
Gamma : 50%, Saturation : 50% |
| CM : 154.62° ; Phase : 51.6% |
The 10 best images are stacked |
© Copyright Rob Kantelberg
|