The Venus Transit

This post is more than 60 days old and may no longer be the most up-to-date content. For event related posts, please check for a newer article to avoid confusion on times and locations.

Well, the transit was a great success! Several members of the club made their way to Kincardine while about 15 of us decided on the Binbrook Conservation Area. A large selection of scopes were set up both on the hill and down by the dock. Quite a few pictures were taken of first and second contact and nobody moved far from their scopes during that period. Once Venus was completely on the sun’s disk, everyone moved around and enjoyed views through some of the other scopes. For me, I think that the biggest moment came when Venus’ atmosphere became visible as a thin arc against the blackness of space. It made it more ‘real’ for want of a better word and as John pointed out, this was only recorded for the first time in 2004. I was also blown away by the views through the hydrogen alpha scopes that were there. In the double stacked scope you could see flares arcing up not only on the edge of the sun, but also on parts of the face. The 3d effect was amazing! All in all we have been treated with 2 great events in just a couple of weeks. The best lame solar eclipse I can remember seeing and the Venus transit both through my scope and many others.