I hope you have been watching the passing of Venus by the Pleiedes the past few nights. If not tonight will be the last chance as the two begin to separate. Beautiful in binos or rich-field scope, the brighter stars of the Seven Sisters are not dimmed by the luster of the goddess nor even by the brightening moon. The conjunction was a hit at the VCC star party on Monday where we first showed Venus in crescent phase under high power and then broadened the field to frame the view. Many of the astronomy class students were taking notes and making sketches.

Here is an image I took of Venus and the Pleiades last night. It was a wonderful sight to see! Definitely recommend everyone to go observe it.

Nice shot, Derek! Those refraction spikes on Venus really splash! That is definitely a publishable picture...as good as I've seen in Astronomy or S&T. Submit! Submit!