Venus To Transit the Sun In June, Not Again Until 2117

revealingheart writes with this quote from ScienceDaily: "On 5 and 6 June this year, millions of people around the world will be able to see Venus pass across the face of the Sun in what will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It will take Venus about six hours to complete its transit, appearing as a small black dot on the Sun's surface, in an event that will not happen again until 2117. ...Transits of Venus occur only on the very rare occasions when Venus and Earth are in a line with the Sun. At other times Venus passes below or above the Sun because the two orbits are at a slight angle to each other. Transits occur in pairs separated by eight years, with the gap between pairs of transits alternating between 105.5 and 121.5 years — the last transit was in 2004." You can check this chart to see whether it'll be visible at your location, and when you should look. You'll need a safe way to watch unless you are Vulcan. And yes, there's even a phone app to help you out.

Comments

Re:Is it just me...

[Relic of the Future]

No, but that one "Mars at closest approach!" email has been chaining around for a decade. (So remember people, make it clear that it's June 5th 2012 when you tell your Fwd: happy relatives and friends.)

But seriously, the transit of Venus IS a big deal. The first post-enlightenment ToV was how we were able to determine the size of an AU, making it the first step in the chain to understanding the size of everything else in the universe beyond the Earth.

Re:More than once

[Barbara, not Barbie]

What money?

WW1 aces would look into the sun with no eye protection whatsoever, because the best place to attack from was with the sun at your back.

You cannot go blind looking at the sun.

Yes, staring for several minutes can cause some damage, even sometimes permanent damage. But a few seconds at a time? Doesn't happen. And it's much less likely to happen if you're nearsighted to begin with and don't correct your vision (don't wear glasses or contacts) - the light simply will not focus.

Probably THE best way to "watch"...

[Anonymous Coward]

The Sun Today - Atmospheric Imaging Assembly

Most likely the best view: 4500k - Visible Light

Images are updated every 30 minutes.

Re:More than once

[Anonymous Coward]

"...just knowing what you were looking at was happening RIGHT NOW, blew me away."

Actually, what you were looking at was happening about 8 minutes ago.

Those wanting to photograph without damaging cam

[tanveer1979]

400mm telephotos are best, but your camera will damage if you try to do direct photography.
So go to ebay.com, and get a cheap 900nm+ IR filter. These filters are so dark, that even bright sun is a pale object through them.
These cost 20$ for a 77mm filter.

With filter on, point your cam at sun, shoot with 1/1000 or faster and then quickly point camera away.

Remember, do not keep camera pointed at the sun continously.

I did a solar eclipse with 300mm lens.
Here are the pics
http://tanveer.smugmug.com/Nature/Solar-Eclipse-July-22/8996323_xLmdqp#!i=598157547&k=7ZhhD.

you can also stack two filters, but then you would need a shutter speed of 1/500 or slower.