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The Venus Transit 2004

Posted by timothy on from the romantic-encounter dept.

Walkiry writes "In just 47 days our friendly neighbour planet Venus will be passing right in between Earth and good ol' Sun, giving us the chance to see a small black spot going accross the disk (last one was in 1882). This is called the Venus Transit. The interesting thing is that there is a project asking for volunteers to perform their own measurements of the phenomena and submit their own results, in what will be the first accurate and public measurement of an extraterrestrial distance. Do you have a spare telescope and some free time on June 8th?"

9 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Of course we do by Michael+Crutcher · · Score: 5, Funny
    Do you have a spare telescope and some free time on June 8th?

    Of course we do. What did you think we would be doing, going on dates with women?

    1. Re:Of course we do by Radical+Rad · · Score: 4, Funny
      Do you have a spare telescope and some free time on June 8th?

      I used to burn ants with a magnifying glass and they think I'm going to stare at the sun with a telescope?

  2. A small black spot on the Sun by Rikus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Okay, everybody stare directly at the Sun.

    1. Re:A small black spot on the Sun by Famatra · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Okay, everybody stare directly at the Sun."

      Don't forget to use your telescope too. ;)

  3. Heh Simpsons... by smoondog · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ahhh, My EYES! The goggles do nothing! (Damn you /.)!

  4. Hmmm... by wviperw · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...accurate and public measurement of an extraterrestrial distance.

    Maybe it's just me, but somehow those two words don't seem to quite go together.

    --
    Nothing disturbs me more than blind loyalism towards some unrealistic and over-idealistic notion of one's nationality.
  5. More Simpsons by Dejitaru+Neko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Homer: It's like you're from Venus...
    Marge: ...and you're from Mars.
    Homer: Oh, sure, give me the one with all the monsters.

    --
    Nyo nyo, the Neko Boy has spoken.
  6. Re:as usual by ColaMan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Blame your current administration, everyone else seems to.

    (tinfoil-hat on)
    A bit of a coinicidence that these events are not visible or clouded out, isn't it?
    Those "Clouds" are carefully engineered using stratotankers dumping chemtrails to keep you passive and unresisting, and also to obscure your view of anything that might possibly cause you to question your leaders.

    Ah, crap, I can't keep up this tinfoil hat charade... but surely someone can extrapolate further from what I've posted. Carry on :-)

    --

    You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
    There is a lot of hype here.
  7. Re:Projecting with cups by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
    If that doesn't work. Here's something you can print out for the kids:
    ---- [cut here] ----



    .