The Belt of Venus

[Rick]

Have you noticed the pink glow along the horizon at sunset and sunrise lately?

It is known as the Belt of Venus. It is created by the sun shining through the dense atmosphere near the earth's surface and being reflected off the atmosphere in the other side.

It is more pronounced at sunset, but still incredible in the morning.

If you have a good view of the horizon to the east in the evening, as the sun sets, you'll see a grey band form under the pink. The grey is the earth's shadow

One sight I read said that it is more of a winter phenomenon.

Here's a picture from the internet.

I'm going to try to get some pictures with my drone one of these evenings.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220215/dbec0d9c364e44db470815bf3d6ef03f.jpg

[Shotgun Jeremy]

That's pretty cool

[Rick]

Well hell. Thursday evening, the view was looking good, so I put the drone up to try to get a few pictures. Raised it straight up to about 50' when all the motors shut off and it plummeted back to earth. Ended up with a broken camera and gimble.

It still flies, but there's obviously, no video and there is no telemetry being sent to the screen so I'm sure something else is broken.

O could probably get the parts from EBay and Amazon, but I've had it since 2015 and the company no longer supports it. I've been experiencing some sketchy flights lately, not getting the same distance, 300- 400 yards or so with video and connection issues, so it's time for a new one.

I'm about to order a DJI Mini 2. https://www.dji.com/mobile/mini-2

4K 30 fps video with zoom.

I watched a video of someone who flew it on a three mile distance test. I'd never have the nerve to do that.

My son did that with his $2,000 dollar drone and almost lost it when it didn't have enough battery to return all the way home. He was able to find it...lol
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220220/82e9e7cddbbc9116dcf6b67f1b7b24a8.jpg

[kantwin]

I heard Skydio makes a really good drone, too.

[Rick]

That looks sharp, but more than I want to pay.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220220/874ed1b4718986b1ef46ba223717b127.jpg

[Ludwig]

I'm guessing that the problem was with the battery. My iPad has a battery problem that causes me to believe that. The battery charges to "100 %" and when I'm in the middle of a project, not ten minutes later, I lose all power and I have to recharge and reboot. Unfortunately, such a recovery is not available for a drone :-s. When you get your new one, I would suggest that you replace the battery more often.

[Rick]

That's my guess too. When a battery is low while flying, , it returns to home. If it's low on takeoff, it immediately goes into the return home sequence.

I have flown test flights with the same battery and it does seem fine.

New drone will be here Thursday.

[Rick]

My drone made it to Fort Worth yesterday and is stranded there due to weather...lol

That's okay, I probably wouldn't have flown it today anyway.

Here is what the DFW roads looked like this morning according to the Google.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220224/22f929dd27ae07cf2c8298183855b0e2.jpg

[sickofpc]

Rick, kind of always wanted a drone. What would a cheap drone, with camera, to begin with cost?..Do you know a couple of beginner's drones, inexpensive, that I might be interested in?..Had a friend that used to have a RC plane...loved watching him fly it...

[Rick]

I've only owned one, a DJI Phantom 3 standard that I bought from Sam's on sale for around $500. It was decent, flew good, was a bit cumbersome to start up. Had to connect the phone or tablet to the controllers network, then the drone to the controller, then calibrate it and all.

With my limited experience, I can't honestly recommend one over others.

These don't seem to be too bad, but the 2k video is a bit low.

https://exodrones.com/

DJI also has a Mini SE that looks like a good price.

https://www.dji.com/mobile/mini-se?from=store-product-page

[Rick]

Ugh! Still not delivered. UPS is still blaming the weather. It left Fort Worth at 2am this morning, got to Waco and left Waco a few minutes later, then went into a weather delay on the way to Belton.

Spoke to someone in Belton and there is no telling when I'll get it.

Oh well, it's supposed to be rainy tomorrow anyway.

[Rick]

Drone was delivered yesterday. Charged batteries and updated firmware overnight.

Here's the first quickshot video in "Dronie" mode.
https://youtu.be/7LQ_x0VzTRI

[ExKilleencitizen]

Looks AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rick]

I got some great shots of the Belt of Venus and the earth's shadow. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220308/a1a2182c53c154809b6765718659401e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220308/df632bc9cc6237902b8f3be7904215c6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220308/2a6769a9f73bec26bf1910814a96962a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220308/4bc079d5fecc3251803f4c42b0156779.jpg

[Rick]

Tonight's view.

The earth's shadow was very prominent tonight.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220309/5cc3d4a1b782b95e78269334d9a1e2d8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220309/4026b286d806b416fe0986688e7c7862.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220309/83f243bc09f919bc82deb739a8ce556e.jpg

[sojourner truth]

Should be a great show tonight if the clouds do not interfere like last couple of nights. 8:50 and high in the sky from SW to NE.

[Rick]

Yep.



Time: Tue Mar 15 8:50 PM, Visible: 5 min, Max Height: 73?, Appears: 10? above SW, Disappears: 35? above ENE

[sojourner truth]

Nice view tonight, and I even got the wife to stand up and come watch it with me.

[sojourner truth]

Rick. Did you remove the "see the station" thing from your header? I do not se it anywhere, and I use it all the time. I realize it is a convenience, but it is a good one. ST

[kantwin]

Still there in my browser.

[sojourner truth]

I thought so. Must be something that was done to my computer.

[sojourner truth]

Or the way I access CTT.

[sojourner truth]

I went directly to Spot the Stations web site and downloaded observation times and dates. Now, if anyone wants to fill me in on upcoming PM sighting opportunities, that would be nice. ST. :)

[Rick]

No, I haven't removed it. I still use it.

I signed up for the emails too. But I only get notified when it appears 40 degrees or higher.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220316/6f00f46b8e3a4c856920e29e0b0f2861.jpg

[kantwin]

My guess is Nerd nerfed your browser somehow. LOL :duck:

[sojourner truth]

Yeah. Go figure. I get it on my wifes computer but not mine. I am sure he can fix it. Maybe.:)

[sojourner truth]

I watched it for about a minute last night. It was clear as a bell, but way north. I will try again on Saturday night.

[sojourner truth]

Saturday night was quick but viewable. Way North again, and it looks like next Friday will be the same.

[Rick]

I took some more Belt of Venus shots this morning with the moon. The shadow of the earth was really prominent.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220320/492a4332ff1ed53975ae6850612f67df.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220320/ef4cdc1b9100d03e5b5390d845a77bf8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220320/2e42fd878e457853870308050ee6ac8d.jpg

[sojourner truth]

Fairly good look last night.

[sojourner truth]

Should be a good look tonight. Wed. at 9:05. Let the clouds be gone.:-)

[Rick]

I'll try to take a look.

[sojourner truth]

Good show tonight. Bright and lasted a long time. The Mrs. even came out and took a look while we watched our pooch chase June bugs.:))

[Rick]

I saw it tonight to. It passed under Orion's Belt.

[sojourner truth]

Yep. From my backyard viewpoint it passed through the lower half of Orion and then through the tip of Taurus before fading out. 5 minutes of total observation time, and all before my bedtime. Yay! :)

[sojourner truth]

I caught a glimpse of what I think was the ISS last night about 845pm when I took my dog out to conduct her business. I will look it up to see if it was for sure, but since Nerd fixed my computer I do not get the time schedule for the ISS viewings unless I use my wife mega cludge computer, which still gets observation times.

Anyhow, the thing was high and bright. Almost directly overhead and travelling west to east until it faded out from loss of sunlight. A good look anyhow.;)

[Rick]

The next chance for us will be May 11th 5:47 am.

[sojourner truth]

Too early for us old farts. Next PM shot will be fine.

[kantwin]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220430/55e08a7411415fb0fe6d58430bdd2316.jpg
This morning, Venus and Jupiter in close conjunction.

[sojourner truth]

As a result of sky-watching and taking my dog outside at around 850 PM every night, I have seen a number of other orbital objects showing up. The last one I saw was heading from South to North the night before last, and was fairly bright as it passed the pointer stars of the Big Dipper. Last night, I think I saw the same object last night heading from west to East in the same part of the sky.

Point being, is that there are more things up in the sky to see than just the ISS.