Wesley's Tool-Box

Here is all my recent observations of Venus through Canon SX50 HS in one picture. I think it shows pretty well how Venus dramatically approaches Earth while being in the inner orbit. The last six observations have been posted in the blog before:

[2013-10-30] [2013-11-17] [2013-11-30]
[2013-12-07] [2013-12-21] [2014-01-04]

The first two didn't look much on their own, so I didn't make an entry about them when they were photographed, but they make for a nice comparison, so I included them here now.

The Iridium 42 featured in today's "The Toon-Box" was a frame from the series of burst shots I made with iPhone 5S. You can see the video of these shots as this YouTube video.

Device: iPhone 5S
Settings: 30mm - ISO 320 - 1/15s - f/2.2
Filters: None
Time: 2014-01-09 17:55 KST
Location: Seoul, Korea

Venus will be closest to the Earth on January 11. Since it's on an inner orbit, it'll be aligned very close to the Sun. So it'll set almost simultaneously with it, making it hard to see this week or the next.

This photo I took over the weekend is the one last good look at the planet before it shows up in the morning instead of evening. It's gotten quite big and was still relatively bright against the dusk.

Device: Canon SX50 HS
Settings: 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 160 - 1/10s - f/4.5
Time: 2014-01-04 18:02 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
55 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8

In contrast to the flare spotted in the less light-polluted spot, Iridium 52's flare in the low altitude among one of the heaviest light pollution in the country is far less dramatic. Even the -5.2 magnitude brightness is nearly washed away in the background. See the YouTube video below for the faint flare in action.


Device: iPhone 5S
Settings: 30mm - ISO 1250 - 1/15s - f/2.2
Time: 2013-12-24 18:29 KST
Location: Seoul, Korea

While visiting Ulsan, there was a bright flare at -6.4 magnitude of the Iridium 40 satellite in the southern sky last evening. It was so bright that my iPhone 5S had no problem recording it in its burst mode (10fps at 8 megapixels). It was quite a sight to see. Here are two ways of seeing it in action:

1. Youtube Video


2. Animated GIF (click the thumbnail)


Device: iPhone 5S
Settings: 30mm - ISO 2500 - 1/15s - f/2.2
Time: 2013-12-27 18:38 KST
Location: Ulsan, Korea