Wesley's Tool-Box

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

As Venus comes closer, the crescent shape keeps growing bigger, and effectively negates the thinning. I guess that's why the planet still shines bright in the evening sky.

Settings: Canon SX50 HS - 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 80 - 1/250s - f/6.5
Filters: None
Time: 2013-12-21 18:04 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
32 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8

It's interesting to see how Venus keeps getting bigger and slimmer at the same time. It's still quite bright in the evening sky - it's visible even before Sun is set. Sunset was at 17:14, but I could already see the planet at 17:05.

Settings: Canon SX50 HS - 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 80 - 1/1000s - f/6.5
Filters: Baader M&S applied
Time: 2013-12-07 17:39 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
18 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8

Venus keeps coming closer to the Earth, and it's getting visually larger from here. But since it's in the inner orbit, the crescent is getting thinner as well. Take a look at how it looked like two weeks ago and four weeks ago to see what I mean. I'll be keeping track of the planet regularly as it keeps coming closer. It'll be closest to the Earth almost exactly six weeks from now (January 11, 2014).

Settings: Canon SX50 HS - 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 80 - 1/250s - f/6.5
Filters: Baader M&S applied
Time: 2013-11-30 17:47 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
17 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8

Looking out the sky with the rainclouds just moving over, the bright (-4.5 magnitude) Venus was visible even at sunset. I pulled out my SX50 HS and got some good shots of the planet with my daughter. The crescent shape is getting ever thinner.

Notably, this is the first "good" Venus photo I got out of the camera so far. Previously, the planet was too close to the horizon and got warped by the atmospheric turbulence, and the angular diameter being too small did not help, either.

Settings: 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 80 - 1/800s - f/6.5
Filters: Baader M&S applied
Time: 2013-11-17 17:27 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
23 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8