Just before the clouds came in (and Jim set to work on them with his cloud bustin’ laser finder!) we observed Venus and Mercury sinking in to the west. Ann first noticed the odd shape of Venus, and closer examination revealed that Venus was exhibiting pillars, just like solar pillars. Venus pillars are very rare, and we saw both upper and lower pillars. Although small to the unaided eye, they looked impressive though the telescope. It was a rare treat! This image was made with my small but mighty 80mm refractor.