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Transit of Venus tomorrow — Parallax Forums

Transit of Venus tomorrow

Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
edited 2012-06-06 08:51 in General Discussion
The last transit of Venus for a century is tomorrow from 6:04 PM EDT to sunset. Back in 2004 I saw the transit of Venus at sunrise and it was pretty neat. What you see is a tiny intensely black dot against the surface of the sun. To view it helps to have a telescope equipped with a special filter. But lower tech approaches like a pair of eclipse glasses or pinhole projection will work. Here’s more information:

http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/eye-safety/281-six-ways-to-see-the-transit-of-venus

Back in the mid 90’s I watched an eclipse using pinhole projection and it worked surprisingly well.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate where you are.
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Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-06-04 14:11
    'Looks like it's gonna be a peek-a-boo view here. But, since it lasts about six hours, odds look pretty good for at least a glimpse.

    -Phil
  • Duane C. JohnsonDuane C. Johnson Posts: 955
    edited 2012-06-04 18:56
    Hi All:

    I will be doing the same thing as for the annular solar eclipse a couple of weeks ago.

    It will start at 5:05pm central time hear in Minnesota and goes till sunset.
    I will get a better image for a longer time than eastern sites.
    The further west the better, sorry Martin %^(

    I use a 10x50 binocular on a tripod with a pair of holes used as a sun blocker.
    The projection screen is a white cardboard box cover.
    Since sunspots are easy to see, I saw 3 sets during the eclipse, Venus will be a snap.

    Duane J
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-06-04 19:33
    Anyone here keeping their electronic eyes out for the mysterious arc of Venus?

    http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/04jun_arcofvenus/

    Robitschek1.jpg
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2012-06-04 21:48
    I have a mylar solar filter for my 60mm telescope. It also has a modified USB web cam connected to my netbook. Hopefully with the computer mount I can get some decent images and maybe a bit of video.

    Amanda
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-06-04 21:53
    I'm planning to use a department-store telescope for eyepiece projection. I've got a better one but don't want to risk melting something inside of it. :)

    -Phi;
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-06-04 21:59
    I've got a computerized 8" Schmidt Cassegrain that I will set up if the weather cooperates. Fortunately, I do have a solar filter. I'll have my fingers crossed.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-06-05 06:31
    What is a solar filter made of, what household material to use to improvise one?

    t
  • Duane C. JohnsonDuane C. Johnson Posts: 955
    edited 2012-06-05 08:19
    A modern solar filter is basically plastic film coated with metal.

    The coating is precisely deposited on the film and is robust enough to prevent scratches.
    The film thickness is very precisely controlled so it doesn't cause optical distortion.
    The metallization is highly reflective especially in the infrared and ultraviolet for safety reasons.
    The film doesn't even get warm.
    You can buy it "raw" for use in your holder
    or already mounted in a kind of cap to be placed over the telescope or binoculars.

    This type of filter is quite safe as bright sunlight never enters the instrument.
    When I was a kid I had a sun filter that was placed in front of the eyepiece.
    This got quite hot and was very dangerous. OK, it never cracked for me but was not safe.
    Basically keep the heat out in the first place.

    Another method was to use a "Hershel Wedge".
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_wedge
    I used one of these many times but the heat still entered the telescope.
    The modern film types is clearly the best method.

    Another method is to use number #14 welding lenses.
    Quite safe to use and cheap. Although optically not quite as good as they are made from float glass.

    Outside of the welding lens, there are no reputable safe "home" alternatives.

    Projection methods work very well and are safe.

    Duane J
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2012-06-05 08:26
    ajward wrote: »
    I have a mylar solar filter for my 60mm telescope. It also has a modified USB web cam connected to my netbook. Hopefully with the computer mount I can get some decent images and maybe a bit of video.

    Even if they don't meet your expectations, please post a couple. I'd be very interested!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-06-05 08:28
    It''s raining. I may have to be content observing the transit here:

    -Phil
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-06-05 08:59
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    It''s raining. I may have to be content observing the transit here:

    Thanks for the pointer. It looks like we're going to get rained out here as well. Too bad I was hoping to show my kids, but a video feed will have to do.
  • BitsBits Posts: 414
    edited 2012-06-05 09:05
    I using a welding lens coupled to a telescope. :)
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-06-05 09:14
    prof_braino wrote: »
    What is a solar filter made of, what household material to use to improvise one?

    Mine is a full aperture solar filter made for the purpose. If I didn't have one I would use either eyepiece projection (on a scope I didn't care about) or pinhole projection. I wouldn't try to improvise because you can't get new eyes. When I was in high school I had a cheap dime store scope with an eye piece filter. I shudder to think of the risk I took because I didn't know how risky those were.

    Pinhole projection works better than you would think. When I was in high school I used it to draw pictures of sunspots and measure the solar diameter. I also used it to view a solar eclipse back in the 90's before I got my solar filter.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-06-05 09:23
    If you insist on a cheap DIY solution, a pin hole camera is likely the best as you don't stare directly at the sun. Venus is a tiny spec on the surface of the sun as it passes in front of it, so viewing directly without magnification might be rather hazardous. And with magnification, you can magnify the damage to your eyesight.

    Google - Viewing Venus Safely and read up on building a pin hole camera.
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2012-06-05 11:16
    Just a hint... if anyone is looking for a 'good' mirror to reflect the Sun light, a hard drive platter works well, as opposed to a standard mirror. With a standard mirror, you will get refraction between the thickness of the glass and the mirror coating that will cause a blurred or double image. With a hard drive platter, the mirrored surface is polished metal and doesn't produce a refracted image.

    See "The Sunspot Projection Experiment" towards the end of this link...

    http://users.erols.com/njastro/barry/pages/pinhole.htm
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-06-05 12:18
    The welding googles didn't work out well. As soon as I got them out of the package, the kids found an 11" fresnel lens and went off to find an ant hill. Hopefully they will run out of ants by sunset.
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2012-06-05 19:30
    The sun is dipping into the coastal haze now, but around 4pm the viewing was pretty good. Even then the resolution varied minute by minute with the haze factor. Here is a photo of my viewer made with a box and binoculars, and a snapshot of the image. It's nowhere near as striking as the images on the NASA site linked above, but its fun to DIY at home.
    monocularProjector.jpg
    VenusTransit060512.jpg


    There is a piece of pinkish gel on the objective lens, otherwise the image was too bright for comfort or for the camera.
    monocularProjector.jpg
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    VenusTransit060512.jpg
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  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2012-06-05 19:31
    ...wooooHOOOOOO! GOT IT!!!

    South San Francisco bay area, somewhere between 5:45 and 6:00PM, give or take.
    IMG_2596_cropped.jpg
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  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-06-05 20:04
    The clouds parted very briefly here, enough for me to get a glimpse with the telescope and eyepiece projection. But I don't see any hope of another opportunity before sunset.

    -Phil
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-06-05 20:53
    'Caught it, just as the sun was sinking below the cloud layer, between a pair of utility wires:

    attachment.php?attachmentid=93281&d=1338954739

    -Phil
    sic_transit_venus.jpg
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  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2012-06-05 21:01
    It was a nice day today. Our family enjoyed some time together watching the dot on the spot.
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2012-06-05 21:09
    I saw Venus over there, in the filtered telescope in my work! Luckily the students set them up for all of us to see! :D

    Next thing to do on list: Travel there. Maybe science and technology in the near future will make this faster.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-06-05 21:50
    No chance here, Helsinki, very overcast. Turns out they had much better seeing further north in the land of the midnight sun.
  • MoskogMoskog Posts: 554
    edited 2012-06-05 22:42
    Good conditions here in Norway, especially in the northern part where the sun was up all night long. The domestic TV did broadcast the whole show from midnight to early this morning. I didn't stay up but took a look before going to work at 6 am, could see the little Venus dot up and to the right of the sun's dish.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-06-06 00:04
    Well I had everything set up and ready to go but not a single break in the clouds for us. [noparse]:([/noparse]
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-06-06 00:09
    Sunny & clear all day in Los Angeles, we had a marvelous view. We limped along with a pinhole projector ("I think I see it!") until someone showed up at work with some #14 goggles. Very easy to see the dot of Venus at the 2 o'clock position.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-06-06 03:39
    Nice pictures. It is a rather small dot against the sun, isn't it? Now that the eclipse - which is opposite my astrological Sun in Sagitarius - is over, life should get better, right?
  • Dave HeinDave Hein Posts: 6,347
    edited 2012-06-06 04:57
    I saw it -- on the Weather Channel. :)
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2012-06-06 06:36
    Cloudy here. Didn't see anything.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-06-06 06:39
    The Boston area had solid cloud cover and I couldn't see it. I had to content myself with streamed footage on NASA's edge network.
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