Dear all Venus observers-
 Venus was successfully imaged in UV, Wr. #47 violet and Wr. #80a medium blue.
 According to my images, I was totally surprise that the southern band is visible in
Wr. #47 violet filter!! But in a weaker contrast. This band is still going strong as
you see in UV light with much better contrast.
In Wr. #80a medium blue, is somewhat difficult to make out.
But the images show a slight hint that something is there.
During the past three years of imaging in UV light, I never came across with this dark
band in the southern hemisphere which last so long!  I think this a classic feature!
I had imaged in Wr. #47 filter in 1999 but the details didn't show that much and the disk was pale.
But it did show details in UV images. In fact, there was a little activity going on
in spite of the possible Spoke System I may have captured. I assumed the Wr. #47 was
too weak to capture the details. The UG-1 UV filter was the way to go.

 The band in the southern hemisphere is the darkest feature for quite some time.
The contrast was so great that it can be seen in a longer wavelength. So, longer than
400nm at visually is quite possible and this is about to be true.
Observers like Tim Wilson of Missouri and Cliff Meridith of England have claimed to see
streaks-like from the terminator in the south and even the north.
Very rarely that the UV images match with the visual observations.
But I have few simultaneous observations and they all seem to be agreeable with one another.
There are some links when comparing with UV CCD images and visually.
Thanks to the dark band! If this wasn't for that in the southern hemisphere, it would
not be possible to find out.
These observers and in the past have claimed to see dusky features at one time and not
in other times. In this case, the band is there for at least two months and has enough
contrast to see it visually with or withou! t filters under the best condition.

After this evening apparition is over, I am planning to write a paper on simultaneous
observations of Venus.
This may not be enough to confirm it and more observations are needed in the futue.
But it is a step closer to solve this mystery.

Regards,
Frank J Melillo
[Frank J Melillo  Holtsville NY U.S.A]
 ≪アメリカ　ニューヨーク≫

ALPO-Japan Latest Venus Section	2002/07/17
	2002/07/12