Moving around the Sun on an orbit inside that of the Earth, Venus displays phases like the Moon, cf. VT-2004 InfoSheet D3. The famous Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) first observed Venus's phases in 1610 with the recently invented telescope. This contributed to convince him that Venus moves around the Sun and is illuminated by this body and that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the centre of the world.
On this page, photos of Venus's phases are displayed in chronological order, as they were photographed before and after the Venus transit on June 8, 2004 and are now shown at the VT-2004 website. Please note that the orientations of these photos depend on the equipment used and are therefore not uniform.
Early in 2004, Venus was about "half", but as it moved along its orbit between the Sun and the Earth, we began to see it more and more "from behind". Consequently, the illuminated part of the disc steadily diminished and right before the transit on June 8, Venus' crescent had become extremely thin. At the same time, some of the sunlight was refracted through the Venusian atmosphere, creating the effect of an illuminated, partial "ring". The same phenomenon was observed on some photos taken when Venus "entered" and "exited" the solar disc at the time of the transit.
All photos on this page may be downloaded and used, provided the photographers (authors) and the VT-2004 programme are indicated as source.
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Venus' Phases (Composite Images) |
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|  Phases of Venus [821 x 470 pix - 110k]
Zlatko Kovacevic
Celeston SC G-8 with ToUCam Pro
January 24 to May 4, 2004
Virovitica, Croatia
More images at this site |  Phases of Venus [565 x 255 pix - 10k]
Mike Cripps
Neatherd High School Astronomy Club
Orion ED 80mm Apo-Refractor + Philips Webcam
[Three images showing the phase change as Venus approaches us in its orbit]
March 13, April 11 and 22, 2004
Dereham, United Kingdom
More images at this site |
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|  Phases of Venus [1500 x 418 pix - 223k]
Erling S. Nordøy
10-inch Meade LX 200
Philips ToUcam Pro 740k
[Frames Combined]
March 15 - May 13, 2004
Tromsø Norway
More images at this site
| ![Venus' Phases [Montage]](images/vt-photo-06-hgl-icon.jpg) Venus' Phases [Montage] [400 x 348 pix - 9k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newton 254 120/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP
April 8 to May 10, 2004
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |
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|  The Phases of Venus [600 x 600 pix - 37k]
Statis Kalyvas
4.5-inch Mizar telescope
Nikon Coolpix 750
February 27 - June 8, 2004
Thessaloniki, Greece
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February - April 2004 |
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|  Venus' Disc [424 x 307 pix - 29k]
Tamás Ladányi
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 250/3550 C; webcamera
February 20, 2004, 17:04 UT
Hungary
|  Venus' Disc [320 x 240 pix - 14k]
Dave Lills
Shannonside Astronomy Club
12-inch Meade Schmidt Cassegrain Lx200
Philips Toucam Pro camera
[Combining 150 images]
March 5, 2004
Limerick, Ireland
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|  Venus' Disc [384 x 277 pix - 30k]
Tamás Ladányi
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 250/3550 C; webcamera
March 6, 2004, 17:06 UT
Hungary
|  Venus' Crescent [197 x 235 pix - 18k]
Laszló Zsiga
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 200/1000 Newton
ToUcam with UV+IR blocking filter;
March 18, 2004, 18:06 UT
Hungary
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|  Venus in early April [227 x 340 pix - 29k]
Gábor Szendröi
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 355/1500 Newton
Philips ToUcam
April 3, 2004, 17:26 UT
Hungary
|  Venus in Daytime [476 x 388 pix - 13k]
G. Avila, F. Delplancke, C. Guirao, J. Rodriguez
Amateur Group for Astronomy Projects at ESO (AGAPE)
CGE-14-inch Celestron
Nikon D-100 with CCD RGB 12-bit (3kx2k)
[Test for Venus occultation on May 21]
April 22, 2004, 12:00 UT
Garching, Germany
More images at this site |
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|  Venus' Crescent [165 x 195 pix - 18k]
Laszló Zsiga
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 200/1000 Newton
ToUcam with UV+IR blocking filter;
April 22, 2004, 18:14 UT
Hungary
|  Venus' Crescent [640 x 480 pix - 24 k]
Olivier Maréchal
Spa Astronomy Group
Telescope TAKAHASHI CN 212 and webcam
April 23, 2004
Spa, Belgium
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|  Venus' Crescent [620 x 453 pix - 10k]
[With text - 620 x 453 pix - 10k]
Robert Wielinga
200/1600mm refractor
351 webcam images stacked
[Left: colours caused by atmospheric refraction; Right: corrected]
April 26, 2004, 19:38 UT
Utrecht, The Netherlands
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May 2004 |
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|  Venus' Crescent [388 x 288 pix - 35k]
Jean-Luc Mairlot
Spa Astronomy Group
Camera Vesta Pro with CG11 telescope and Barlow Televue Powermate 2,5x
[composite of 299 images]
May 2, 2004
La Fosse, Belgium
|  Venus' Crescent Getting Slimmer [338 x 432 pix - 30k]
Zlatko Kovacevic
Celeston SC G-8 with ToUCam Pro
May 4, 2004, 19:48 UT
Virovitica, Croatia
More images at this site |
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|  Venus' Crescent [900 x 630 pix - 126k]
Erling S. Nordøy
10-inch Meade LX 200
Philips ToUcam Pro 740k
[300 frames combined]
May 7, 2004, 15:41 UT
Tromsø Norway
More images at this site
|  The Crescent of Venus [640 x 449 pix - 56k]
Frank Brandl
8-inch SC telescope; f/30; ToUCam Pro
Baader IR/UV-cut filter; 300 images combined
[Venus only 10.5° above horizon]
May 16, 2004, 20:42 UT
Steinheim, Germany
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|  Daytime Venus [640 x 480 pix - 27k]
Dave Storey
16-inch Meade + ToUCam
May 18, 2004, 13:56 UT Isle of Man, UK
|  Daytime Venus [640 x 480 pix - 25k]
Dave Storey
16-inch Meade f/10 + ToUCam
[Processed image] May 18, 2004, 14:04 UT Isle of Man, UK
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|  The Very Thin Crescent of Venus [300 x 300 pix - 12k]
Herbert Raab
[ Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft]
50cm Cassegrain telescope; f/10
Wratten 29 (deep red) filter
Mintron 12V1C-EX B/W video camera
25 frames (of 1500) averaged
May 20, 2004, 09:11 UT
Linz, Austria
|  Venus' Crescent [239 x 244 pix - 10k]
Dán András
Planet Observers' Network,
Hungarian Astronomical Association 6-inch ApoF20
Webcam
May 21, 2004, 15:40 UT
Hungary
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|  Venus' Very Slim Crescent [205 x 213 pix - 14k]
Timo-Pekka Metsälä
Atik ATK-1C Camera
[Composite of 2145 images]
[In daytime - Venus 20° and the Sun 5° above the horizon, respectively]
May 23, 2004, 18:14 UT Espoo, Finland
|  Venus' Crescent [140 x 133 pix - 4k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newton 120/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP
B/W Camera UV + MV-1 filter + dark-green filter
May 24, 2004 - UT 13:00
[Illuminated fraction 7.2%]
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |
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|  Venus' Slim Crescent [720 x 576 pix - 58k]
Daniel Crussaire
[Paris Observatory]
4-inch Takahashi fluorite refractor
PixeLINK CMOS 1260x1024/10 bit camera; f/16
Composite of 18 frames; each 0.008 sec
May 28, 2004, 10:40 - 10:45 UT
Meudon, France
|  Venus' Extremely Narrow Crescent [300 x 300 pix - 10k]
Herbert Raab
[ Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft]
50-cm f/10 Cassegrain reflector
Wratten 29 (deep red) filter
Mintron 12V1C-EX B/W video camera
2-min video sequence processed
May 31, 2004, 09:35 UT
Linz, Austria
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June 2004 - Before the Transit |
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|  Venus' Extremely Thin Crescent [428 x 417 pix - 19k]
Rob Johnson
[Liverpool Astronomical Society] 14-inch GOTO reflector with 3X Barlow lens
Red (#25) filter
Philips ToUCam Pro 740K
1-min sequence in "boiling" seeing Processed with Registax and Photoshop June 1, 2004, 17:46 UT
Liverpool, UK
More images at this site
|  Venus' Very Slim Crescent [114 x 128 pix - 1k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newton 120/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP
MW-1 and dark-green filter
June 2, 2004, 13:01 UT
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |
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|  Venus' Very Slim Crescent [445 x 444 pix - 4k]
Carsten A. Arnholm
Vixen 90mm refractor
Philips ToUcam 740k with Baader IRB filter
June 3, 2004, 18:00 UT
Norway
|  Venus Approaching the Ring Phenomenon [300 x 166 pix - 5k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
120-mm refractor f=2000mm
Mintron MS-168EP
MW-1 filter
[Left: original image; Right: processed to better see the full extent of the crescent]
June 5, 2004, 06:30 UT
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |
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|  Venus' Approaching the "Ring" Shape [128 x 128 pix - 2k]
Timo-Pekka Metsälä
102mm Maksutov-Cassegrain f/13
ATK-2HS camera
Composite of 700 frames
[Venus only 5° from the Sun]
June 5, 2004, 10:28 UT Espoo, Finland
|  Venus Before the Transit [578 x 358 pix - 71k]
Paolo R. Lazzarotti
Astrophysics AP130 f/6 telescope with 2x Barlow APO
BW sensor Vesta PRO
[Composite of 250 frames] More images at this site
June 5, 2004, 13:33 UT
Massa, Italy
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|  Venus Approaching the "Ring" [301 x 317 pix - 23k]
Carsten A. Arnholm
10-inch SC f/6.8
MX916 CCD camera
June 5, 2004, 14:20 UT
Norway
|  Venus' Approaching the "Ring" Shape [640 x 512 pix - 24k]
Pic du Midi Observatory
50 cm refractor - Coupole Tourelle
[Venus only 3° from the Sun!]
June 6, 2004, 06:22 UT Pic du Midi, France
More images at this site |
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|  Venus Approaching the "Ring" [513 x 513 pix - 5k]
Carsten A. Arnholm
Vixen 90mm refractor
Philips ToUcam 740k with Baader IRB filter
June 6, 2004, 07:46 UT
Norway
|  Venus Before the Transit [578 x 358 pix - 74k]
Paolo R. Lazzarotti
Astrophysics AP130 f/6 telescope with 2x Barlow APO
BW sensor Vesta PRO
[Composite of 600 frames] More images at this site
June 6, 2004, 11:07 UT
Massa, Italy
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|  Venus - 240-deg Crescent [677 x 337 pix - 166k]
Ivan Majchrovic, Roman Piffl, Miroslav Grnja and Pavel Rapavy
[members of the VT-2004 observations group of the Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers]
160/2450mm refractor + 2x Barlow
CCD color camera SHT
Exposure 0.002 sec
[Composite of three frames; Left: Original view; Right: Negative print to show better the extent of the crescent]
June 6, 2004, 12:43 UT Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia
|  Venus' Crescent Nearing the "Ring" [500 x 480 pix - 139k]
Zsolt Kereszty
Corona Borealis Observatory
14-inch f/10 LX200GPS with 20mm Meade eyepice (projection)
FUJI Finepix S-7000 camera
Exposure 1/1000 sec
June 6, 2004, 15:12 UT
Gyorujbarat, Hungary
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|  Venus Approaching the "Ring" [649 x 540 pix - 39k]
Pete Lawrence
VIXEN FL-102s 4-inch refractor; f/9
Canon 10D; ISO 100; 1/350 sec
June 6, 2004, 15:23 UT
Selsey, UK
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After the Transit |
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|  Venus After the Transit [578 x 358 pix - 84k]
Paolo R. Lazzarotti
Astrophysics AP130 f/6 telescope with 2x Barlow APO
BW sensor Vesta PRO
[Composite of 600 frames] More images at this site
June 10, 2004, 12:28 UT
Massa, Italy
|  Venus After the Transit [578 x 358 pix - 78k]
Paolo R. Lazzarotti
Astrophysics AP130 f/6 telescope with 2x Barlow APO
BW sensor Vesta PRO
[Composite of 700 frames] More images at this site
June 11, 2004, 10:43 UT
Massa, Italy
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|  Venus Grows Again [187 x 214 pix - 5k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newtonian telescope 150/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP
Omag Yellow Filter + MV-1
July 1, 2004, 08:26 UT
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |  Half-Venus [89 x 135 pix - 3k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newtonian telescope 120/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP; no filter
August 17, 2004, 09:12 UT
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site |
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|  "Half-Venus" in the Morning Sky [650 x 540 - 71k]
Ralph Vandebergh
250mm Newtonian telescope; f/38.4
ATC-2C Colour CCD
IR filter
Composite of 56 frames at 1/100 sec
[Through turbulent atmopshere]
August 17, 2004, 04:19:51 UT
The Netherlands
|  "Half-Venus" in the Morning Sky [650 x 540 - 68k]
Ralph Vandebergh
250mm Newtonian telescope; f/38.4
ATC-2C Colour CCD
Composite of 285 frames at 1/100 sec
[Through turbulent atmopshere]
August 18, 2004, 03:56:58 UT
The Netherlands
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|  Half-Venus [296 x 326 pix - 18k]
Hans-Göran Lindberg
Newtonian telescope 100/2602mm
Mintron MS-168EP with filters
September 13, 2004, 07:15 UT
Kärrbo Observatory
Skultuna, Sweden
More images at this site | |
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| [VT-2004 Photo Archive Top Page] |
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![Venus' Phases [Montage]](images/vt-photo-06-hgl.jpg)
![[With text - 620 x 453 pix - 10k]](images/vt-photo-03-rw.jpg){kind=link}