As planned, I returned to my vantage point from May 21st to view Venus. Through my refractor, Venus was very crescent shaped but the atmosphere was boiling with waves distorting the view. It was still pretty impressive, large and very thin.

I waited until both Mercury and Venus approached the treeline and took this picture as a parting shot. The planet parade has been amazing for the past couple of months with early morning views of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter and now with Venus soon to fade in to the horizon line at dusk. Venus won't be seen for a little over a month. Then you will be able to catch it rising in the east at dawn.

Camera: Nikon Z with FTZ adapter
Lens: Nikkor 300/4 AFS with TC 1.4x Convertor (effective 420mm)
Sensor ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/15 second at f/6.3
Processing: Adobe Photoshop CC 2020