Venus on 1960 October 29 at 15:10 EDT (19:10 UT) as sketched by G. Wedge. 6" refractor at 150x. Seeing 2-3. Transparency 1. Markings indefinate [sic].

Venus on 1960 October 27/28 at 17:50-18:05 local time (21:50-22:05 UT) as sketched by K.R. Brasch. 8" reflector at 165x with a blue filter. Seeing 3-0. Transparency 4-5. Outline of dark areas very indefinite.

Venus on 1960 October 21/22 at 17:15-17:25 local time (21:15-21:25 UT) as sketched by K.R. Brasch. 8" reflector at 165x with a blue filter. Seeing 3-1. Transparency 3-4. Disk completely featureless except for brightness in S. polar region.

Venus on 1960 October 12 at 15:25-15:35 local time (19:25-19:35 UT) as sketched by G. Gaherty, Jr. 6" refractor at 150x.  Seeing 1-2 (image boiling). Transparency 4 (daylight observation). Planet appears yellow-green against blue sky. Markings very indefinite.

Venus on 1960 October 10 at 06:25-06:35 local time (22:25-22:35 UT) as sketched by K.R. Brasch. 8" reflector at 165x-300x with a blue filter. Seeing 3. Transparency 3. N. polar region very large and bright. Dark marking relatively conspicuous, although outline indefinite. Dark shadings exaggerated greatly to show contast between areas.

Venus on 1960 October 10 at 16:00-16:05 local time (20:00-20:05 UT) as sketched by G. Gaherty, Jr. 6" refractor at 150x. Seeing 1. Transparency 3. Daylight observation. Planet appeared green against blue sky background. Markings drawn, except terminator shading, were extremely indefinite and of doubtful reality.

Venus on 1960 October 10 at 15:55 EDT (19:55 UT) as sketched by G. Wedge. 6" refractor at 150x. Seeing 2. Transparency 2. Marking to the north is doubtful.

A battery of SCTs in readiness for observing the 2004 transit of Venus on the observing deck of the College of Charleston Observatory, Charleston SC. Image courtesy of Dave Gallant (©Dave Gallant)

Image by Dave Gallant, by the simplest of methods - holding a simple point-and-shoot 3.1 megapixel to a telescope eyepiece. It works! Image courtesy of Dave Gallant (©Dave Gallant)

Dave Gallant took this dramatic image while observing the 2004 transit of Venus at the College of Charleston Observatory, in historic Charleston SC. Image courtesy of Dave Gallant (©Dave Gallant)