Belt of Venus…
2006-09-05 07:50:30.000 – Jim Salge, Observer
Undercast and Earth Shadow…
I don’t always like surprises, but even at 4:30 in the morning, a knock on the bedroom door doesn’t necessarily mean bad things at the Observatory. Sure sometimes, especially in winter, the late night wrap usually mean an instrument has failed and you have to go from deep sleep to -100F windchills, but these times are rare. Given the morning forecast when I went to bed though, I couldn’t rationalize why they were waking me up this morning.
“Jim … Undercast” was the only message I needed to get me moving though. I walked outside to the scene pictured at right…as well as calm winds, and relatively warm sunshine above!
There is one portion of the picture that I’d like to highlight this morning…the thin blue strip just above the horizon. This strip is called the ‘Belt of Venus’ and can sometimes be seen shortly after sunrise, or just after sunset. The strip is actually caused by the shadow of the earth itself, projecting out into the atmosphere. A bit of a confusing thing to picture, so here’s a nice schematic and explanation!
Jim Salge, Observer
From Mountains to More Mountains
From Mountains to More Mountains: This Time with Stronger Winds By Alyssa Bélanger On the observation deck in high winds. Hello there! My name is Alyssa Bélanger and I am a fall
From Summit to Sign-Off: My Farewell to the Rockpile
From Summit to Sign-Off: My Farewell to the Rockpile By Amy Cotter Enjoying my last Mount Washington sunset (for now) on September 13, 2025. After two incredible years with the Mount Washington
Trail Report: Seek the Peak Hikes 16 and 17!
Trail Report: Seek the Peak Hikes 16 and 17! By Chris Nichols September 22, 2025 – Summit 16 of 17 A chilly morning turned into a spectacular day on Mount Washington. The thermostat in
