Venus' Evening Loop
Credit & Copyright
Tunc Tezel
From September 2000 through March 2001, astronomer Tunc Tezel
patiently photographed the planet Venus on 25 different dates
as it wandered through the evening twilight.
The pictures were taken from the same spot on the campus of
the Middle East Technical University near Ankara, Turkey, and
timed so that for each photo
the
Sun was 7 degrees below the horizon.
Carefully registering and combining the pictures, he produced
this composite image -- a stunning demonstration of
Venus' grand looping
sky motion
during its recent stint as planet Earth's
evening star.
As indicated, the first picture, taken September 28, 2000,
finds Venus close to the western
horizon and drifting south (left)
with the passing days.
By December however, Venus
was climbing well above the horizon after sunset and
in January 2001 it reached its maximum apparent distance
(elongation) from the Sun.
March found Venus falling from
the evening sky while
moving rapidly north, finally appearing (far right) as
a faint dot against the sunset glow on March 24.
This month, Venus rises before dawn as the brilliant
morning star.