Transit of Venus June 8, 2004
June

FAQ

What is a transit of Venus?
The transit is the movement of Venus across the face of the sun as Venus orbits between earth and the sun .
What can I expect to see?
You may safely view the transit of Venus only if you use proper solar filters or a suitable indirect viewing technique.
Watch the black disk of Venus glide toward the edge of the sun. A magnified view through a solar filter may reveal the “black drop” effect, sunspots, the atmosphere of Venus, and other rare sights.
What is the significance of a transit?
Transits help determine our place in the cosmos. In historic expeditions, explorers spanned the globe to time transits of Venus, from which they quantified the size of the solar system. Astronomers now seek earth-class planets transiting distant stars.
Where is more info and resources?
www.transitofvenus.org
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov
Order a DVD and a data CD of the Transit of Venus program through the Great Lakes Planetarium Association
(see http://analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/transit.htm). Contact:
Dave Leake
William M. Staerkel Planetarium dleake@parkland.edu (email preferred)
(217) 351-2567

The Black Drop Effect:
At internal contact,
Venus appears to
elongate, confounding
astronomers for centuries.

Witness a celestial spectacle
not seen by any human now alive!

Transit of Venus

Newsletter Date

Volume 1, Issue 1

June 8, 2004

Transit of Venus June 8, 2004
June

Venus passes
between the sun and earth.

Hands-on activities illustrate why transits of Venus are so rare.

NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

The sun expels a mega-flare.

Explorers spanned the globe to time the passage of Venus across the sun.

SOHO (ESA & NASA)