Friday June 19 was a special day for me. I’ve been watching Venus and Jupiter in the evenings as they have come closer to each other. They will be at an amazing 1/3˚ apart on June 30. Details of that coming event are in this previous post.
After Sunset at 9:30 pm
Weather and clouds play a big role in getting good views. The past week has been mediocre. I have viewed the pairing on three of the recent five evenings. I am trying to get a series of photographs that I can combine into a sequence to document the days leading up to the close pairing on the 30th. The view Friday evening was perfect. Plus, the new moon was nearby. Bonus points for me.
Jupiter upper left | Venus center | Moon bottom
Mid-afternoon at 4:30 pm
Friday was a beautiful clear day with low humidity. The sky was transparent blue. It was a perfect opportunity to see Venus and Jupiter in the afternoon light. I was able to view Venus and Jupiter in broad daylight when the Sun was still high in the sky at 4:30 pm. I have seen each in daytime before, but not on the same day.
I put the camera on the tripod. Using software, I looked up the time when Venus would be straight south. The software told me it would be 67˚ up in the sky at 4:30 pm. If you know where to look for Venus in the daytime, it is not hard to see with the naked eye since it is so bright. I pointed the camera and did some test shots. This was the best one.
Venus | Camera on tripod
I knew Jupiter was supposed to be close by. Jupiter is not nearly as bright or easy to see as Venus. I scanned with my naked eyes first. Nothing. I tried binoculars. Nothing. I got out my telescope. Being of larger aperture, it gathered more light for a brighter and bigger view. Don, my neighbor, walked by with his dog. He wondered what I was looking at. So, I showed him Venus. He said it looked like the crescent moon. He was correct.
After Don left, I continued to scan the sky for Jupiter. Finally, there it was! It was a perfect globe that even showed some very faint cloud bands on high power. None of the Galilean Moons was visible. I hurried into the house for the phone. It has a very good camera in it. Carefully I held it to the eyepiece so I wouldn’t bump the telescope. I tried five exposures hoping one would be ok. I was lucky. There is Jupiter in the center.
Jupiter | Phone camera through telescope eyepiece
In the evenings ahead, I will continue to get some images of the pair as they approach each other. Maybe the sequence composite will be something to share. I am looking forward to the main event on the 30th and hope we have a clear evening for it. Watch the sky in your neighborhood. Enjoy the show.
How I See It 
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How exciting!! In early spring 2000 ( we still lived in The Netherlands back then) Venus and Jupiter were so close together than at night Venus looked so bright that many mistook her for a comet. It was such an incredible sight and apparantly that only happens once every 2000 years…so big discussions wether this was the ” Star of Bethlehem” . After seeing it with my own eyes, I could understand ;0) Cheers, Johanna
I have read that reference to the Star, also. I hope we all have clear skies on the 30th so we can see for ourselves.
Thank you for the nice comments.
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Who knows? Maybe that’s the world’s first phone-camera (with lots of help from a telescope) photo of Jupiter.
Not the first. I’ve seen several. Maybe the first in daylight.
Thanks for pointing that out.
I thought about you last night and wondered what kind of conditions you were having, sky-wise. It cleared just long enough about ten o’clock for a great view — even though, as the low clouds started drifting in again, they were bright enough to shine through them.
It’s clear this morning, and there are hot and dry conditions predicted starting tomorrow, so it ought to be quite a sight. I may even mess around with the camera a bit. I wasn’t going to, but the way things were positioned last night, the conjunction appears right above our lighthouse, and it was quite a sight when that light would flash. I couldn’t quite decide, but I think Venus was brighter than the lighthouse.
I hope you do play with your camera. I’d love to see that scene with the lighthouse.
Isn’t it a lovely view?
Beautiful top image!
Thank you.
Thank you for this reminder to look up, Jim 🙂 We’ve been enjoying an inordinate amount of cloudy weather here, but I’ll make a point of noticing, now. I hope the sequence works out. That would be pretty cool.
We got a rare break yesterday. I grabbed the opportunity.
You get a real good view of Jupiter with your telescope!
This image is very similar to my view on high power. The camera thru the scope doesn’t do it justice. http://cs.astronomy.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/1000×0/__key/telligent-evolution-components-attachments/13-61-00-00-00-45-32-51/Jupiter-montageBWb.jpg
minus the labels of course 🙂
I imagined that, I guess I was referring to the magnification. The best spot to use a telescope in this city is on a rooftop. There’s too much burglary in the San Juan area. They can point a gun at you even for an iPhone or expensive Nike shoe wear, unfortunately, that is.
Of course, now that my memory has been jogged I look outside and see…overcast. I’ll try to remember on the next clear night. I am glad that you are having some good views and sharing them too.
That is so amazing! Awesome. And as Melissa says: thanks for the reminder to look up. Now that the clouds are thinning there might even be something to see haha
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