North is up in this image, more info below.

 

            
This view is only 8 days out from the upcoming
transit of Venus across the sun.  This was taken
in the daytime around noon with the sun and Venus
near the zenith.  The 2.5x Barlow was used, and
a UV/IR blocking filter was used to get a fast
frame rate to freeze the poor seeing.

Click for a larger version!


Processing:
            300/3000 best frames, alignment in Autostakkert, I-USM, Levels
            and Contrast Masking In Photoshop CS2,
Instrument:  6" f/6.5 with 2.5x Barlow
Platform:  Astrophysics AP1200
CCD Camera:  Image Source DMK 31AU03.AS
Filter:  None
Exposure:  1/250 sec  15fps
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing 1/5, Transparency 9/10
Outside Temperature:  80F