Venus crossing the sun (1 Viewer)

[Cees Alons]

If the sun rises, please go take a look, WEARING ECLIPSE SPECTACLES. Never look at the sun directly, not even for a short moment, not even with sunglasses.

For only less than an hour from the moment I post this, you can still see the planet Venus crossing before the sun, it's a very tiny black spot. It has been going on for almost three hours now and will soon be over.

This has not happened for 122 years, so it's rather special.

Here's a site with a webcam (Dutch, but the picture speaks for itself): Venus Crossing The Sun. When it's over it won't show much interesting anymore, I'm afraid.


Cees

 

[Cees Alons]

Update: The planet is leaving the edge of the sun NOW.
Last chance to see it life. I trust you will get pictures everywhere soon.


Cees

 

[ZacharyTait]

Actually Cees, the next time it will happen will be in 2012, then after that, 2117.

 

[Malcolm R]

Thanks Zachary. I'll catch the next show in 2012.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Yes, but it won't happen in Britain for a couple of hundred years, and that's all that matters.

I tried to watch this morning but after several days of lovely blue cloudless skies, this morning it was overcast. :frowning:

 

[ZacharyTait]

That figures. I remember the last time there was a solar eclipse it was beautiful weather the two or three days before it happened and then it was stormy the day of. Aargh!

I hope to be around to catch the one in 2012.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Thanks for the info Cees !

From the main page, they have replays (near the bottom):

http://www.venusvoordezon.nl

 

[Cees Alons]

Andrew,

We had warm weather without any overcast. I didn't have a piece of eclipse glass, so I used 5 sunglasses over each other.

Your current clouds are coming this way, I believe, if that's just a tiny bit of consolation to you.


Cees

 

[Carlo_M]

Man, and I thought Return of the King had a lot of time between showtimes...

 

[Dana Fillhart]

This is irritating to say the least -- I started up a thread on this exact same subject last night, and nobody posted a single response. And look, it's still on the first page of threads!

I feel kind-of rejected.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Well, looking out of my window there's even more clouds coming towards you. It's v. humid and oppressive here at the moment, and I suspect rain/thunder is on its way. Saves watering the garden this evening, I suppose.

Anyway, I got to see the transit on live TV, which I suppose is nearly the same thing...

 

[Cees Alons]

Dana,

Sorry for that - my fault. I tried to instantly get people to their feet at sunrise. Noted your thread only later. I'll reply to your thread right now!


Mark,

Thanks, I'll keep an eye open and an umbrella close by. Right now those clouds seem to rise when they enter here, giving us a watery sunshine.


Cees

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Thanks for all the warm fuzzy feelings of love, guys, it's appreciated.

 

[ZacharyTait]

Pics? Anyone else doing the same thing where you were?

 

[Cees Alons]

Fortunately, no one was present (at my home) that moment.

I clipped two of those clip-on sunglasses to my prescription sunglasses. Three years ago I had purchased a fitover in LA (never seen them here in Europe), put another clip-on inside that and "fitted" it over my sunglasses. It sort of held and I could watch the sun (after a several seconds) enough to actually see Venus.

A few years ago, the 'real' eclipse happened while I was at the hospital where I used to work, and we all used two or more layers of exposed photographic film (from the radiology department). Much better than my 5-layer sunglass solution. Classic is the smoked glass approach, of course. One never seems to have one's standard eclipse-glasses ready and in one's pocket at moments like this.


Cees