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Venus Transit
© 2012 Joe
Gafford - Click
image for larger
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The transit of Venus -- rich
in tradition and important
in the development of man's
understanding of the solar
system and the universe --
is one of those milestone,
once-in-a-lifetime events
that everyone interested in
astronomy should see in
person.
In Denver, the transit was observed at Chamberlin
Observatory with DU's
20-inch Clark-Saegmuller
refractor, as well as with
telescopes attended by
members of the Denver
Astronomical Society in
Observatory Park and at the
Denver Museum of Nature and
Science, from 4pm to about
8pm, when the ongoing
transit set in the
west.
An additional treat for the
transit was the high activity of
the Sun, which is at
maximum, with frequent
sunspots and solar
prominences. Although there
were clouds to the west, the
first 45 minutes of the
transit were clearly visible
and there were numerous gaps
in the clouds throughout the
day, especially in the early
evening.
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Viewing Venus
Transit at the DMNS
(Courtesy Chuck
Habenicht, DAS) |
Boy viewing the
Transit at
Chamberlin
Observatory
(Courtesy Ron
Pearson, DAS) |
The transit is a seemingly simple
event: the crossing of sun's
disk by the planet Venus.
But it is also a rare one,
occurring twice (8 years
apart) at intervals of about 113
years. The previous
transit of Venus (not
visible from the Western
U.S.) was on June 8, 2004.
The next transits will be in
December of 2117 and 2125.
The 2012 transit will be
only the 8th since the
invention of the telescope
and the first to be widely
visible to the U.S. public
because of the wide
availability of safe, solar
filters.
DO NOT
LOOK DIRECTLY at the Sun
without proper eye
protection.
Read NASA Article
Transit Events
In Denver, CO (and the rest
of the Western U.S.) the Sun
set before the transit
was finished (External
Egress). The following
events were visible from Observatory
Park and DMNS (from the
Chamberlin Observatory dome
the Sun will be visible
until about 7:15pm):
|
External
Ingress |
Internal
Ingress |
Greatest
Transit |
Internal
Egress |
External
Egress |
|
4:05:19 pm MDT |
4:22:55 pm MDT |
7:25:44 pm MDT |
Not Seen |
Not Seen |
| |
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Observer's Handbook
2012, RASC |
Web LINKS
Check out the DAS
Mercury Transit of
2006 Web page
for information on Denver
observations of a similar
but more frequent planetary
transit.
NASA Web Site and Online
Viewing, which includes
articles on the scientific
and cultural significance of
the transit of Venus:
http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/
Safety
and access considerations
for Chamberlin Observatory.
- DMD
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