2004 Transit of Venus from Point Judith
by Dave Huestis
I hope those of you who were interested in the transit of Venus this past June weren't disappointed. There were quite a few clouds around that morning, but I don't think anyone completely missed the event. Skyscraper members were spread out throughout the state to observe this very rare phenomenon. <br>
My group set up our telescopes down at Pt. Judith. Sunrise was extremely cloudy. After about 15 minutes we finally got a six- or seven-minute look at the sun with Venus in transit before clouds obscured the view once again. During that brief time period the clouds were thick enough to afford us a view without filters. Not the best thing to do, but we only briefly glimpsed the image. The large black disk of Venus was very apparent. Number 14 welder's glass and special solar eclipse glasses enhanced the view. <br>
The clouds finally parted an hour later and we were able to watch the rest of the event through completion. Venus' black disk was darker and more round than any sunspot I had ever seen on the surface of our Sun. We anxiously awaited the moment just before 3rd contact, when we expected to see the "black drop" effect. <br>
We were not disappointed. All of a sudden the blackness of space outside of the solar disk seemed to drip inwards towards the disk of Venus approaching the solar limb or edge. It was a great phenomenon to observe. Slowly but surely (four or five seconds to this observer) the effect vanished as Venus' image began to exit the solar disk. We watched right up to the very end until that little notch of the planet's disk, like a little bite had been taken out of the sun, disappeared off the Sun's edge until 2012. <br>
It was a great thrill to witness an event that had not been seen for 122 years. If you want to see some great images of the transit, including some fine shots of the "black drop" effect, please visit our website at ( http://www.theskyscrapers.org/ ). <br>
