Another World

Manchurian Taikonaut · #1 (**permalink**) 30-August-2004, 09:45 PM

Here is a picture of Venus

Quote:

The planet Venus appears as a dazzling morning or evening star, because it's near the Sun.

It can reach a magnitude of -4.7 so unless the Moon is up you won't see a brighter star in the night sky.

Venus sometimes can seem a lot like Earth, it has a similar size and density and is the closest Planet to Earth.

However Venus is very unlike Earth aswell. A horrible place, and it's conditions are hellish, it's upper clouds are of Sulphuric Acid, the atmosphere pressure will crunch machines and probes to death. It spins the opposite direction to other planets and the Temperatures are about 500 C or 900 F , due to a run away greenhouse effect. Sending a craft to Venus is a very difficult task, most have been totally destroyed. The Russian Venera 8 in 1972 landed and transmitted for 23 mins after and later on the USA's Magellan spacecraft found evidence of events like Global Volcanism

Venus appears like a half Moon in this pic because one side is facing the Sun while the night side is turned away. Few features can be seen as the thick atmosphere blocks us from looking at the surface

Anyone looking at Venus in the early morn' ? and Saturn? They are close together, in the middle of the long arc of Castor and Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius

Manchurian Taikonaut · #2 (**permalink**) 30-August-2004, 09:48 PM

Here's Saturn

slotdrag · #3 (**permalink**) 31-August-2004, 05:13 AM

yes were getting up and going out this morning

Callisto · #4 (**permalink**) 31-August-2004, 09:17 PM

I was looking at Venus and Saturn this morning and on the other side was a full moon it was a great sight.

Manchurian Taikonaut · #5 (**permalink**) 01-September-2004, 02:09 AM

Yes Venus and Saturn are wonderful in the morning

you can see the Jupiter shots I took some while back in this link here

http://www.thespacesite.com/community/uplo.../images/105.jpg

http://www.universetoday.com/forum/uploads...-1089556395.jpg

afterburn · #6 (**permalink**) 01-September-2004, 06:23 AM

that Saturn shot is just great!! Blows away anything I have done with that planet B)

Kneeknocker · #7 (**permalink**) 01-September-2004, 11:54 PM

Fantastic pic's you guys, iv just got a meade lx90 and need to get the t adaptor for my slr, then i hope to take some pic's as well.

BobbyD · #8 (**permalink**) 02-September-2004, 02:39 AM

Here's a shot of Jupiter taken with a 5" maksutov-cassegrain and a Meade LPI imager.........

Spacemad · #9 (**permalink**) 02-September-2004, 07:36 PM

I've seen Venus & Saturn together every morning this week beginning on Monday when I accompanied my wife to her place of work at 5:30 a.m. Since then I have been able to see them together every morning from about 3:30 a.m. onwards. This morning about 2:30 a.m. I saw them shortly after they rose above the horizon & Venus was so bright it look like the landing lights of a plane coming down! I was amazed by how bright Venus was at that time of morning! B)

A truely lovely jewel in the predawn sky!

Manchurian Taikonaut · #10 (**permalink**) 03-September-2004, 03:39 AM

That's a great photo of Jupiter BobbyD

Manchurian Taikonaut · #11 (**permalink**) 03-September-2004, 03:55 AM

Kneeknocker I'm glad you've got your scope

I sent you a message on what I think about taking pics of astro objects and what might be good to try out.

Good of luck

Kneeknocker · #12 (**permalink**) 03-September-2004, 02:08 PM

Thanks T D H I will start trying things out later today hopefully.

K.K.

Dave Mitsky · #13 (**permalink**) 04-September-2004, 02:16 PM

On Thursday morning I had a look at Saturn (162x and 259x) and Venus (162x) with the ASH 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain. The two planets are currently receding from each other after their close appulse on September 1st.

Just a few months ago Venus was a waning crescent in the evening sky:

http://dvaa.org/php/mpix.php?p=Dave_Mitsky...=Venus2004_0501

Not long after that it crossed the face of the Sun in a historic transit:

http://dvaa.org/php/mpix.php?p=Dave_Mitsky...n3rd_4thContact

Dave Mitsky

Manchurian Taikonaut · #14 (**permalink**) 05-September-2004, 02:44 AM

Great Venus pictures Dave !

KeiZka · #15 (**permalink**) 04-October-2004, 09:44 PM

I'd love to get such photos, but as student and only with Konusmotor 500, it's bit hard. I do have camera, but not CCD, though i got couple good pics of moon... Any hints, what equipment I should get if I want to stargaze and take photos to show off at astronomy courses?

Manchurian Taikonaut · #16 (**permalink**) 11-November-2004, 09:04 AM

KeiZka, have you got a scope ? If you are already taking shots of the Moon the the planets or even the Sun ( with proper equipment ) might be fine for you

I took this photo taken before the dawn on the 9th of November

Jupiter is nice and bright in the morning next to Venus, you can also see some of its Moons

gavwvin · #17 (**permalink**) 11-November-2004, 10:15 AM

not very good but here's venus taken a month or two before the transit using eyepiece projection for 4 seconds (no guiding, so it's slightly elongated)

Manchurian Taikonaut · #18 (**permalink**) 11-November-2004, 12:48 PM

very nice image gavwvin

Manchurian Taikonaut · #19 (**permalink**) 11-November-2004, 11:36 PM

Here's a shot of Venus and Mars taken before the Sun rises. They are very nice morning stars, Venus is very bright in the morning sky however Mars is very hard to find as it rises much latter just before Sunrise. This photo was taken on the 9th of November.
The planet Venus is about 1.29 AU from Earth now, you'll see it as a very strong morning star and its phases is about 82% finished by the end of Nov' it will be about 89%. Mars is very difficult to spot, it's about 2.6 Au from Earth or maybe 390 million kilometres away. Because of the orbits of the Earth and Mars , the red planet will only come into opposition roughly once every two years and 2 months. For backyard astronomers and space agency workers like NASA scientists this is very important, because stargazers can spot the planet much better when its close and Space people have a nice window of opportunity for launching craft. In November of 2005 it will be at opposition with a distance of 70 million km from Earth, its disk size will be much larger and the magnitude much stronger.
So far we have 2 NASA craft around Mars , Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey,
Europe has the ESA Mars Express orbiter, plus NASA also has the great rovers taking great shots of the surface.
The European Agency plans to re-use elements of Rosetta and ESA's Mars Express for it's Venus mission. The Russians have already put a lander on Venus , the craft Venera 7 landed and transmitted for 23 mins after arrival. Nasa's Magellan mission launched from the Atlantis shuttle got some fantastic info about the Planet but the mission ended in 1994

Manchurian Taikonaut · #20 (**permalink**) 11-November-2004, 11:46 PM

Here is a shot of the Planet Saturn taken with the LX90 and the LPI imager. At this time Saturn is about 8.4 Au away, it has an average distance from the Sun of about 1430 million Km or 889 million miles. Saturn's rings are very thin maybe only a few tens of metres thick, it is thought they are made from ice, dust and rock. B)
Saturn is the most distant planet know to ancient astronomers, Galileo was among the first to see the rings but he didn't know what he was seeing, he thought maybe Saturn was 3 planets stuck together in space. Christiaan Huygens then used his better telescope equipment and deduced Saturn had a ring. At most the rings are tipped towards us at 27 degrees
By the year 2009 the all the rings will vanish from sight because they are so thin and will appear to us edge on from Earth. Saturn has a mean density of 0.69, it is the only planet with a density less than water. Saturn doesn't have any great red spot or strom clouds as large as Jupiter, but it does have some hints of bands and whiter and yellowish areas of storms. Saturn atmospheric components H2, He and CH4, some of its storm clouds are thought to be made of ammonia crystals.
Right now NASA and the European Space Agency have their eyes on Saturn. Their probe Cassini-Huygens has been watching Saturn, its picturing the rings and getting info on its Moons. They plan to study the Saturn magnetosphere and the surface of Titan, the satellite Titan is the planet's largest moon. The ESA and American scientists plan on getting info from Saturn for the next 4 years, let's hope the Cassini Orbiter and Huygens Probe do well

astronomy2004 · #21 (**permalink**) 12-November-2004, 01:59 AM

here are my pics

Venus

Jupiter's moons

Jupiter