The British Astronomical Association
Mercury and Venus Section
- Director: Dr Richard
McKim
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Welcome
to the homepage of the BAA Mercury & Venus Section.
Here you will find examples of observational work that the
amateur can do concerning the interior planets. The formal
observational programme of the Section has been published in
the BAA Observing Guide, a copy of which is sent free to all
new members of the Association.
The present Director of the Section (appointed in 2004) has also
been Director of the Mars Section since 1991. He joined the Mercury & Venus
Section as long ago as 1975, when J. Hedley Robinson
was its Director, and has been a steady contributor to its work ever
since.
The most interesting themes of present work concern the building up
of a database of CCD images of the planet Mercury, and the frequent
imaging of the upper clouds of Venus in ultraviolet light. But systematic
visual observations will always be relevant, and so the observer with
a relatively small instrument can still contribute to the work of this
BAA group.
The Director will be pleased to offer help
and advice to intending and current observers.
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Announcement - April, 2006
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Transit of Mercury 1973 November 10. Mercury leaving the face of the Sun. Drawn by RM Baum, Chester by projecting the Sun's image onto a screen with an 11.5cm Refractor x30.
The planet Mercury will cross the face of the Sun in
2006. Venus will do the same in 2012. The MESSENGER spacecraft
mission, launched in 2004, will bypass Venus and Mercury twice
before arriving in Mercury orbit in 2009. The 21st Century
is beginning with a decade of the planets…
Sometimes known as the Interior Planets, Mercury and Venus are the only major planets that orbit closer to the Sun than the Earth. Mercury is the nearest planet to the Sun. Venus orbits the Sun in between the paths of Mercury and the Earth.
So, Mercury and Venus make their journeys around the Sun inside the Earth's orbit; and this has important effects on where they can be seen in the sky, on the way they appear to move and on the way they look to a telescopic observer.
We cannot see Mercury and Venus at midnight
We can see Mercury and Venus most easily in the morning or the evening
When we see Mercury and Venus through a telescope, they show phases, like the Moon
Left: The Planet Mercury by Paul Doherty, 1978 March 25, 19.00 UT, 41.9cm Reflector x244.
Right: The Planet Venus by David Gray, 1996 July 25, 06.35 UT, 41.5cm Reflector x348.
About us
Beginners, or even experienced observers,
may think that they are being left behind by today's technology.
This is not true as far as we are concerned in the BAA Mercury and
Venus Section.
Our section programme is open to all, regardless of experience, whether
you own a 60mm refractor or a ccd set up. The experience of our contributing
members is considerable. And it is experience that we are happy to
share. If you want to observe these beautiful and fascinating worlds,
we make
a friendly invitation to contact us, to join the BAA and to contribute
your observations. You can email any comments to Dr
Richard McKim
We adhere to sound observing principles, but our methods are not rigid or restrictive. Flexibility is vital to the encouragement of interest, participation and innovation.
Our aims are to attract people who want to observe Mercury and Venus with techniques that are established or new, to share knowledge, and to co-ordinate amateur investigation of these worlds.
Our basic objects are to make, to keep, and to make available a record of the appearances of Mercury and Venus.
Robert Steele (ex director)
Homepage | Story of the Section | Mercury Page | Venus Page | Venus Archive