Venus and Mercury, and How to Observe Them

by Grego, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780387742854
• ISBN10: 0387742859
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Venus and Mercury have always been regarded as difficult targets for amateurs, but advances in commercially-made instruments have brought them within range of only moderately experienced observers. The concept of this book is to present an up-to-date detailed description of the history and geology of the inferior planets, and also to provide the best information about observing and recording them with commercially-available telescopes and cameras.

Author Biography

Peter Grego has recently written The Moon and How to Observe it for Springer, and also has eight other published astronomy books to his credit. Living in the UK, he is a well-known writer and practical amateur astronomer.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
About Peter Grego	p. ix
Introduction - A Perspective on Mercury and Venus	p. 1
Current Knowledge of Mercury and Venus
Our Current Knowledge of Mercury	p. 9
Mercury's Orbit	p. 9
Physical Dimensions	p. 9
Mass, Density and Gravity	p. 10
Axial Tilt and Rotation Period	p. 11
Origins	p. 11
Core, Mantle and Crust	p. 13
A Tenuous Atmosphere	p. 14
Magnetic Field	p. 15
Surface History of Mercury	p. 16
Mercurian Nomenclature	p. 20
A Survey of the Known Mercurian Surface	p. 22
A Mercurian Quartet	p. 24
Northeastern Quadrant	p. 25
Southeastern Quadrant	p. 33
Northwestern Quadrant	p. 42
Southwestern Quadrant	p. 50
Our Current Knowledge of Venus	p. 71
Venus' Orbit	p. 71
Physical Dimensions	p. 72
Mass, Density and Gravity	p. 72
Axial Tilt and Rotation Period	p. 72
Origins	p. 73
Surface History	p. 73
Tectonic Features	p. 74
Terrae and Highlands	p. 75
Venus, the Real Vulcan	p. 78
Lava Flows	p. 82
Tectono-Volcanic Structures	p. 87
Impact Features	p. 90
The Impact Mechanism	p. 92
Classification of Venusian Impact Craters	p. 93
Post-Impact Crater Modification	p. 97
Venus' Atmosphere	p. 103
Magnetic Field	p. 105
Surface Conditions	p. 106
A Survey of Venus	p. 107
A Venusian Triptych	p. 109
The Ishtar-Alpha-Lada Region (300 to 60E)	p. 109
The Niobe-Aphrodite-Artemis Region (60 to 180E)	p. 123
The Kawelu-Atla-Helen Region (180 to 300E)	p. 140
Observing Mercury and Venus
Equipment for Observing Mercury and Venus	p. 155
Vision	p. 155
Monoculars and Binoculars	p. 158
Telescopes	p. 162
Telescopic Resolution	p. 169
Eyepieces	p. 170
Binocular Viewers	p. 172
Scopes and Seeing	p. 172
Telescope Mounts	p. 173
Recording Mercury and Venus	p. 177
Recording Techniques	p. 177
Mercury and Venus Data	p. 183
Computer Programs	p. 183
Line Drawing	p. 187
Copying-up Your Observations	p. 188
Imaging Mercury and Venus	p. 189
Selected Large Scale Photo Opportunities Featuring Mercury and Venus, 2009-2019	p. 192
Digital Imaging	p. 201
Observing Mercury	p. 207
Phenomena Common to Mercury and Venus	p. 207
Lunar Occultations of Mercury and Venus	p. 209
Apparitions	p. 210
Naked Eye Views	p. 211
Binocular Observations	p. 211
Mercury's Phases and its Appearance Through the Telescope	p. 213
The Stroboscope Effect	p. 223
Transits of Mercury	p. 223
Occultations	p. 227
Observing Venus	p. 229
Brilliant Morning and Evening Star	p. 229
Apparitions	p. 229
Daytime Views with the Unaided Eye	p. 233
Binocular Observations	p. 234
Telescopic Observation	p. 235
Locating Venus in Daytime Through a Telescope	p. 236
Nocturnal Observations of Venus	p. 236
Venus' Cloud Patterns	p. 237
Venusian Anomalies	p. 241
Contour Anomalies	p. 242
Transits of Venus	p. 243
Protected Unaided Eye Views	p. 243
The View in H-alpha	p. 244
The Venus Transit of 6 June 2012	p. 244
Stellar Occultations	p. 247
Societies, Groups, Useful Internet Resources and Bibliography of Worthwhile Books	p. 249
Mercury Feature Index	p. 253
Venus Feature Index	p. 255
Subject index	p. 259
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