Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

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WCGucfa
Posts: 1856
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:39 pm

Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Hey Guys,

06/13/2015
Rather than let my clammy western sky convince me it wasn't worth the effort to try for an image of Venus and M44's
close encounter, I broke out my Orion 80mm f/7.5 ED refractor and mosquito repellent and gave it a go.
It seemed to take forever for the sky to get dark enough to reveal the dim stars of the Bee Hive.

A 30 second exposure did the trick. Venus' brightness was almost too overwhelming! The center of the cluster was about
55 seconds from Venus. Both objects were speeding toward the horizon, where of course, a thin fog had formed accompanied by
threatening cloud puffs.
Canon T1i with a 50mm lens, through a 40mm eyepiece, ISO 400. I had to stand on a step ladder to look through the almost horizontal scope!
Image

I wanted a wider field shot, so I popped on my Sony DSC F-707 for another 30s image. I decided the fog was a good thing! If it was going
to stop the transmission of the fainter cluster stars, it may as well add some surrealism!

Thanks for checking my post out!

Bill G.
Image
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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rjbokleman
Posts: 517
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 11:09 pm

Re: Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by rjbokleman »

I hear you about the brightness. Mike and Frank were giving me a hand adjusting the focus on my new guide scope / camera setup @ MSSF and man 'o man was Venus bright. In fact we couldn't even tell if we got a good focus due to it's brightness. Nice shots!
Ron B.
T5i/700D, ASI1600MM-C, ASI120MM, ASI174MM, XAGYL 7x36mm FW
Astronomik Deep-Sky(RGB), CLS, Ha, OIII, SII
SV60EDS 60mm f/5.5 APO
AT65EDQ 65mm f/6.5 ED Quadruplet
SW ProED 100mm f/9.0 Doublet APO
C8 EdgeHD, AT130EDT
AVX, iEQ45 Pro

http://www.astrobin.com/users/rjbokleman/
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Apollo XX
MSSF Coordinator
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Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by Apollo XX »

Hey Bill,

NICE shot, WRONG thread! Man-o-man we have to work hard to keep you seasoned veterans on track! REMEMBER the Venus photo contest YOU started??? Get with it man! You'll never win the big prize with lapses like this. :lol:
"The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens." - Anaxagoras
Bruce D
Life Member
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Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 6:10 am

Re: Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by Bruce D »

Nice shot Bill, this sight was one of the highlights of the MSSF trip for me
Bruce D
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WCGucfa
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:39 pm

Re: Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Thanks guys.
Mike, my plan with the contest was to sit back and enjoy everyone's work, not participate.
This way, I won't get stressed out trying to produce a winner! (Ahhhh, how nice, hanging out in this thread.)

Bruce, glad you got to witness the spectacle!

BG
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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AndyG
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Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:18 pm

Re: Venus and the Bee Hive Close Encounter

Unread post by AndyG »

Great shot, Bill!
Andy
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