venus, again

I woke up a bit early, 6:15, and peeked out the window.  It was still mostly dark; the moon was a thin crescent showing a bit of earthshine; Venus was very bright.  I took a measure and it was one fist (held at arm's length) width to the west, in a line with the moon's horns.  I intended to use that measure to try to find Venus during the daytime, and brought my binoculars and monopod to work for that purpose.

I arrived at work at 8:30 and took a moment in the parking lot to find Venus, which was dimmer but still an easy white point.

I went out during my lunch hour and this time stood in the shade of the building to look.  The sky was hazy, transparency 2/5.  I needed a couple of minutes to find the moon, and once I did I swept the sky with the binoculars to find Venus.  I did soon enough, a nice white point.  Next, I tried to see naked eye by cupping my hands around my eyes to block the light, leaving a small slit to peer through.  This time I couldn't see anything for a couple minutes until I noticed a small brightening with averted vision.  I checked my binoculars again to confirm, then thought to use the branches of a nearby tree to give me some guide posts (eg. formed a triangle with two branches).  I looked again naked eye and could confirm.  There was some haze/fog blowing through and sometimes it was certain and others less certain, but I am sure I saw it.

I shared the binocular view with a couple of other employees out for their lunchtime walk so they wouldn't think I was some weirdo...  They appreciated the view. 

It was very refreshing to take in a view like that and take my mind off my regular work.