How to See Venus With A Telescope?

Venus is known as the sister of Earth as they are of the same size and proximity ignoring the extreme temperature of Venus. However, two-thirds of the planet is covered in thick clouds. With the telescope, it is impossible to see the surface features of Venus. The thick clouds reflect the light so brightly that it looks like a star. The beginners after getting their first telescope craze for observing the moon and then the planet Venus. This article will guide you on when and where to look at the sky to find it with tips to get the best view.

What is Venus?

Venus, our closest planetary neighbor, is the second planet from the Sun and is sometimes called Earth’s twin due to its similarity in size, mass, and composition. With an average distance of 108 million km from the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, with a surface temperature of 462°C. Venus has a sidereal day length of 243 Earth days and a solar day length of 117 Earth days. It takes 225 Earth days to complete one orbit around the Sun.
The planet has an equatorial circumference of 38,025 kilometers and a radius of 6,052 kilometers, which is only marginally smaller than Earth. Venus has an iron core around the same size as Earth’s, but its core may be predominantly solid due to a weak magnetic field. Venus is covered in thousands of volcanoes and is encased in a dense layer of toxic clouds, swept along by constant hurricane-force winds. The planet’s atmosphere is thick and toxic, mainly composed of carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid. Venus has no moons. Venus’s rotation is retrograde compared to most other planets in the solar system, meaning it spins in the opposite direction of its orbit around the Sun.

How far is Venus from planet Earth?

The average distance between Venus and Earth in their respective orbits is approximately 108,200,000 km (67,200,000 mi) or 0.723 astronomical units (au). The closest possible opposition distance between Earth and Venus is 38 million kilometers, while the farthest that Venus ever gets from Earth is 261 million km. The difference in orbit inclination between Venus and Earth is approximately 20.1 degrees, and the eccentricity of Venus and Earth’s orbits are approximately 0.007 and 0.017, respectively.

Can you see Venus with a telescope?

Yes, you can see Venus with a telescope. Venus is visible with a telescope of at least 60mm (2.4”) aperture or greater with at least 50x magnification. Venus appears relatively bright compared to other planets when viewed through a telescope. The use of colored filters, such as a Moon filter, can help reduce glare and enhance contrast when viewing Venus through a telescope. The recommended magnification for viewing Venus with a telescope is around 20x upwards, with a minimum aperture of 4 inches (10 cm) being recommended. Venus is often the third brightest celestial object after the Moon and the Sun, making it relatively easy to locate in the night sky. The most prominent features of Venus that can be observed with a telescope include its phases, bright yellow-white appearance, and cloud cover. The recommended magnification for viewing Venus with a telescope would vary depending on the type and size of the telescope, but generally a magnification of 50x to 100x is recommended for a refracting telescope. A telescope with a large aperture and high-quality optics, such as the Celestron Omni XLT 120 Refractor Telescope, would be best for viewing Venus. Turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere can distort the view of Venus through a telescope, requiring either a calm atmosphere or low magnification to compensate for the effects. Glare reduction through the use of filters and lenses can improve the viewing of Venus through a telescope by increasing contrast and reducing glare, making it easier to see surface features and details. The different phases of Venus that can be observed with a telescope range from a thin crescent to a nearly full disk, similar to the phases of the Moon. The recommended filters for viewing Venus with a telescope are color filters, specifically those that transmit certain colors from the spectrum.

Quick Guide to Observe Venus 

After dusk, Venus is easy to locate. You must seek Venus at the beginning or the conclusion of the night because it travels in front of the Sun. Make sure you are aware of the best times and locations to observe Venus in the sky using astronomy apps like earthsky, starLust, etc. The brightest object in the sky is Venus. Most of the time, it is low on the eastern horizon. It will make it simpler for you to see Venus through the telescope. Use a low- to the medium-magnification eyepiece and double-check the alignment of your telescope. Aim Venus with the telescope. For better observation, enlarge the scene. Any type of telescope or pair of binoculars will be able to observe Venus. It looks fantastic even through the 2.5-inch aperture telescope.

Using a star chart is recommended to observe Venus.

Venus is not hard to find after sunset as it is the brightest among all night sky objects. You must look west about 40 degrees above the horizon to see it. If you are a beginner, you can take help from the star charts or astronomy apps on the internet. StarLust app has a comprehensive guide so that you can observe Venus easily through your telescope.

How to find Venus?

1. Make sure you are using skymap, skysafari, etc. These apps will help you identify Venus. 
2. Venus is the brightest object in the sky. It appears low on the eastern horizon most of the time. It will help you to find Venus easily through the telescope.
3. Make sure your telescope is well-aligned and use low to medium magnification eyepiece. Point the telescope to Venus. Magnify the view for better observation.

What is the best time to observe Venus?

The best time for planetary observation is when it is the closest to us on Earth. Venus is the second and Earth is the third closest planet to the Sun. That means Venus precedes the Sun in its path, so it will not be visible in the middle of the night. You have to look for it at the beginning or the end of the night.

The greatest elongation of Venus (the perfect angle between the Earth and the Sun) is about 46 degrees that occur once or a maximum of twice a year. During the greatest elongation, Venus can be seen on the horizon for 3 hours before sunrise and 3 hours after sunset.

When is Venus at its brightest in the sky?

Generally, we can see Venus at its greatest brightness twice a year. It starts getting brighter gradually from the beginning of January until it reaches its first peak in March at the magnitude of -3.9. Then the luminosity gradually drops throughout the next three months. From the middle of July, the brightness again starts enhancing gradually and reaches its greatest brightness in December at a magnitude of -4.88.

4 Tips to observe Venus in the best way.

• Venus is the first shiny dot that appears in the evening sky and the last one to disappear in the morning. It is known as the ‘evening star’ or ‘morning star’.
• The imaginary path the planets follow around the sun is called the ecliptic which changes slightly throughout the year. The lowest position occurs at the winter solstice and the highest position happens at the summer solstice.
• Venus is not far from the Sun.
• To get the best view, you need to reduce the glare. A 25% moon filter helps greatly with this. A dark blue or red filter can reveal a lot of details with the upper cloud. Yellow or green colored filter enhances overall contrast by reducing glare.

What can you see on Venus with a telescope?

Photo: The phases of Venus

• We cannot see the surface of Venus and its details because of the thick clouds covering it. What we see is in fact the clouds of Venus.
• Just like our moon, every month, Venus gradually transforms from full to gibbous to crescent and then disappears until the new Venus phase appears.

What telescope to see Venus?

Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ Refractor, Sky-Watcher Classic 6-inch Dobsonian, and Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ Newtonian Reflector are great telescopes to see Venus. A list of telescopes to see Venus has more telescope options that can see Venus very clearly.

What size telescope to see Venus?

Venus can be seen by any type of binoculars or telescope. Even with the 2.5-inch aperture telescope, it looks really great—however, the larger the aperture, the better the view.

What magnification is required to see Venus?

The phases of Venus can be seen in telescopes at 50x magnification. To see the disk-like view and the details, you should use a telescope with at least 100 mm aperture at a magnification of 200-250x.

Enjoying Venus? Here are other things to see with a telescope.

List of things to see with a telescope shortlists several night sky objects you can observe with the same telescope you use to see Venus. The moon appears with its craters, planets of the solar system reveal their secrets. Saturn shows its amazing rings and Jupiter comes up with its moons. Distant objects like galaxies and nebulae show their shapes and stars inside.