Abstract
THE planet Venus, as every observer knows, is a difficult and, at the same time, a tantalising object for observation, for when she is in that part of her orbit nearer to us, and therefore greatest in size, she presents us with only a small illuminated crescent, from which it is impossible to gather much from her surface markings as a whole. Although at her greatest distance from us she presents her whole disc, yet the latter appears so small that even in this case satisfactory observation is not obtainable. We have to content ourselves, therefore, with observations made between these two stages, and when her apparent disc is thus semi-illuminated.
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L., W. The Planet Venus. Nature 53, 367–369 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/053367b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/053367b0