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A flyer accompanies Eclipse Shades sent to Iraq and Afghanistan (see peace.htm).  The text is translated into Arabic and Farsi, while maps and tables (below) suggest the zones of visibility and global viewing times.

The Transit of Venus

For millenia humans have observed Venus in the quest to understand our place in the cosmos.  One June 8, 2004, Venus passes in front of the sun--a sight not seen by any human now alive.  Though the size of the Earth, Venus will appear as a small dot slowly drifting across the sun.

In Mesopotamia, Venus was once worshipped as Innana and as the evening star Ishtar.  Nearly 4,000 years ago, Babylonian astronomers from the reign of King Ammisaduqua recorded the planet's movement on the "Venus Tablet" found in Nineveh, near Mosul, Iraq.  

In the 18th century, astronomer Edmond Halley showed how the distance to the sun could be measured by timing the duration of the transit of Venus from sites around the globe.  The last transit of Venus was seen in 1882.  In the modern era, astronomers use spacecraft to detect earth-like planets transiting distant stars.

DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION.  You may safely observe Venus pass in front of the sun only if you project an image of the sun onto a surface (do not look through a scope at the sun) or only if you use protective eyewear, such as Eclipse Shades.  Sunglasses are not sufficient protection.  Do not look through Eclipse Shades with any additional magnifying device, such as binoculars, cameras, or scopes.  If your Eclipse Shades are scratched or compromised in any way, discard them.

See www.transitofvenus.org for details.

Approximate translations:
(courtesy of two anonymous volunteers)

flyer-arabic.jpg
The text (above) on a transit of Venus flyer sent to Iraq and Afghanistan (see peace.htm), is translated into Arabic.  

flyer-farsi.gif
The text (above) on a transit of Venus flyer sent to Iraq and Afghanistan (see peace.htm), is translated into Farsi.

Accompanying images:
(courtesy of Fred Espenak and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

http://www.transitofvenus.org/visibility.gif 

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/transit/TV2004/TV2004-Map1a.GIF

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/transit/TV2004/TV2004-Sun1a.GIF

 
Universal Time (UT) of the June 8th Events

 (hh:mm:ss)

*Look for the Black Drop Effect

Additional global times are at http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/transit/TV2004.html.

www.transitofvenus.org

Copyright ©2003-2008 Chuck Bueter.  All rights reserved.