... Jupiter and Uranus, too.
In fact, Venus and Uranus are about to nearly overlap each other on Thursday.
Venus is unmistakable. Jupiter is nearly as bright, and higher up. Mars is a really nice red and you can't miss it ... once it's up. But Uranus is so faint and tiny that it's pretty much indistinguishable from any ordinary background star. You can only see it if you know exactly where to look. But, having Venus right there definitely helps!
I got a picture of it, but it's nothing spectacular - just a pale blue star in a shot that Venus completely dominates.
I’ve been hoping to get a look at Venus when it shows a crescent, but haven’t had much success yet. According to Stellarium, our next opportunity for that will be in May, though it’ll be awfully low in the sky by then.
We finally had clear skies last night (it’s been a really overcast winter) so in spite of the flood of moonlight, I tried out the toy I got myself for Christmas on Jupiter, Venus, and M42. I’ll agree with Russell Neches’ review on that scope: good little tool for a great price, but the eyepieces really are shit.
“toy I got myself for Christmas”
neat! $30??? i had no idea they were that inexpensive.
a telescope second thing i’m gonna get, once we move out to the country. BB gun is first.
i got a pic of venus, that looks like a bit of a crescent, but that could just be camera shake. :)