Venus

Over 400 years ago, Galileo Galilei made the first recorded observations of the phases of Venus as we and it orbited the sun.  These observations were critical to support the Copernican system (Sun-centered) while ruling out the older Ptolemaic system (Earth-centered).  Venus is easily visible with the naked eye as it's the brightest object in the night sky, except for the moon.  Since it orbits closer to the sun than Earth, we always see it relatively close to the sun; just after sunset or around sunrise.  Through a telescope, it's phases are clearly visible, but all we are seeing is the very thick atmosphere reflecting light.  The atmosphere, made mostly of carbon dioxide, is so thick it's the hottest planet in our solar system where temperatures can climb to 880F.  Hot enough to melt lead.  Given its extreme environment, it's a tough planet to explore.  More than 20 missions have been directed to Venus, but only a few (from the Soviet Union) have ever made a landing.  The missions were typically very short-lived (minutes to days) before the craft were crushed and melted by the very atmosphere they were sent to study.

Photo Details

April 25, 2020

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

NexImage10 Camera

Image Acquisition iCap2.4

Y800 Codec
Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop