22 replies to this topic

[Saru]

In a once-in-a-lifetime event, Venus is due to pass in front of the sun for 6 hours from around 6pm EDT.

Telegraph said:

One of the rarest astronomical events occurs on Tuesday and Wednesday when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, a transit that won't occur again until 2117.

Read more...

[stevewinn]

on the TV tonight. BBC2 - 9:00pm till 10:00pm.
The Transit of Venus: A Horizon Special
Liz Bonnin explores the transit of Venus, an event which takes place just after 11pm tonight and offers a rare opportunity to see the planet passing across the face of the sun. She explains why the orbits of Venus and Earth mean they are only aligned twice every century, and investigates what studies of Venus have revealed about life on Earth. Solar physicist Lucie Green investigates James Cook's 1769 voyage to Tahiti to observe the transit, and oceanographer Helen Czerski explores how Earth and Venus came to be so different


http://www.tvguide.c...sp?id=125336232

[esperwolf]

Oh, I got to see this. I'll be watching the sky.

[Erudite Celt]

I'm hoping to film this [weather permitting]on a 4" driven retractor. Anyone have any idea of the shutter rate I should use on my DV camera?

[Arbenol68]

Erudite Celt, on 05 June 2012 - 12:38 PM, said:

I'm hoping to film this [weather permitting]on a 4" driven retractor. Anyone have any idea of the shutter rate I should use on my DV camera?

You must be planning a early start. I thought we were lucky down here. Starts around 10am, and I had thought of going to the local observatory where they've set up an open day. Looks like the weather's not going to play along though.

[Timonthy]

Awesome! Visible from ~08:00-15:00 local time here. Will be watching a web feed or have a crack at a pinhole camera - although that won't show much haha.

Real time video link here from 08:00 AEST (GMT+10): http://www.transitof...om.au/HOME.html

If anyone finds a good high definition feed can they please post a link?

And who knows if we'll be alive or not in the year 2117...

Edited by Timonthy, 05 June 2012 - 01:47 PM.

[Erudite Celt]

Arbenol68, on 05 June 2012 - 01:15 PM, said:

You must be planning a early start. I thought we were lucky down here. Starts around 10am, and I had thought of going to the local observatory where they've set up an open day. Looks like the weather's not going to play along though.

At this time of the year at  54°46'47" N, 5°42'24" W;  light is breaking at 4am!

[ThickasaBrick]

As Timonthy states a HD link would be very welcome. Storming in my area for the next four days.

[Erudite Celt]

jgorman628, on 05 June 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

As Timonthy states a HD link would be very welcome. Storming in my area for the next four days.

A ticket to Tahiti perhaps?


PS
I see from your moto you are of  Ancient Irish decent. I to have an ancient line  MacMathghamha /. McMahon.

[grc]

I would have to wake up at 6:00 am or something like that to see it, if the sky is clear, so I think I will watch it tommorow on the news or on the internet. :cry:

[Mike D boy]

What in the Moon? I can't view it, because I work all day from 1PM to 7PM, but will catch the spectacle on the NASA web site (safely without burning my eyes like the annular solar eclipse 2 weeks ago). I heard there was a total lunar eclipse last night or last weekend (didn't viewed it)...so the NASA web site has some pictures and videos waiting for me, including the May 20th solar eclipse "ring of fire".

[Cryptid_Control]

Darn, this is the worst day for it to be cloudy outside, I haven't seen the sun all day.

[Timonthy]

Blue sky with a bit of thick cloud cover around the horizon here.
Will be able to the the sun from my building all day. iPhone camera won't help much though...

Edit: Bumped into a couple of guys in the park outside my building with some viewing glasses so I viewed Venus just past ingress, easily visible with the naked eye! If that's all I see in person today I'll be happy!

Some people might think its not visually stunning but it is significant enough to make me think otherwise!

Edited by Timonthy, 05 June 2012 - 10:54 PM.

[Paracelse]

From France it might be visible (weather permitting) today the 6th from 5:50 to 6:55 am.  I'll be on the lookout

[rashore]

We were watching a live feed from NASA earlier.. Didn't have anything in the house to whip up into direct viewing,

Kind of made me appreciate anew just how tiny we are compared to the huge burning ball of the sun, lol. I mean, Venus is Earth size ish, and even the biggest critter on the planet is a pretty tiny speck compared to the entire size of the planet. Holy crap, the whole of the human population would probably take up less space than a solar flare. And yet, haha, we seem to disturb our planet more than a dozen solar flares.