Transit Of Venus

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The forthcoming Transit of Venus, will be shown in a one-hour special hosted by Adam Hart-Davis on BBC Two.

As Venus passes between the Sun and the Earth on the morning of the June 8 2004, BBC cameras will be at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and other locations around the country where amateur and professional astronomers witness this curious phenomenon, not seen for 122 years.

In addition, in preparation for the stellar event, BBC Two screens a half-hour prequel spectacular on Saturday, June 5 as an introduction to the main programme.

It will show viewers how to see the transit safely and effectively, and will preview some of the many public events round the country where telescopes will be set up to let people see this extraordinary stellar event.

There is such an interest in this phenomenon that on June 8, BBC One will carry two live reports during its Breakfast programme and again at 09:55 and noon, the latter featuring viewers timing the exact moment when the edge of Venus touches the edge of the Sun's disc which will let them measure the distance to the Sun.

This will happen during the live broadcast from noon.

Analoguesat

For anyone interested in viewing this transit UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES try to look at the sun directly through binoculars or a telescope. You WILL permanently damage your eyesight if you try to......

jimbo

Thanks for the warning.

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Jimbo

Analoguesat

Im sure many folks know about that warning, but its worth repeating for anyone who isnt a regular sky watcher. And this is something special, so there will be more interest than normal.

Eye damage would be immediate due to the heat focussed onto your retina.... Not nice.

The safest way to look at the sun is to use a pair of binoculars and to project the image of the sun onto a piece of card. Tape a piece of thick papaer over one of the front lenses, then point the binocs at the sun. Place the screen behind the binocs, and you will soon get the image of the sun.

mjh

thanks for the info chaps

anyone know to what extent the light loss will b

the solar eclipse we had a while ago certainly made the wildlife quiten down , if the light levels drop significantly again , the same thing will happen i guess

Analoguesat

Nothing as dramatic as that. You wont notice any difference, as Venus is TINY compared to the diameter of the sun.

Have you ever seen sunspots on the sun when its on the horizon at the point of setting? Its possible to see them with the naked eye if they are big ones. (Although looking directly at the sun is of course not recommended it is possible to see sunspots with the naked eye if the sun is shining through thin cloud. Ive seen them several times).

The Venus transit will be about sunspot sort of size.

mjh

not big then m8

ah well

i was hoping for a sleep at work while it was dark

PaulR

I still have the special visors I bought for the eclipse in 1999. Assuming they are completely unscratched they should be OK.

PaulR

Channel Hopper

Ill play safe and wait until it gets dark

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

kalamar

Do a Google search for Venus tail
im more interested in that than the actual planet,it could be dangerous from what I have read.

Analoguesat

It was bloody cloudy up here in Scotland!

I did see it through my binocs using the projection method just before I went to work.

However, I also saw Venus with the naked eye! I was peering hopefully out of the window at work looking at where the sun should have been, and the clouds thinned for a few seconds. The clouds dimmed the light almost totally so it was just a round white disc. There at in the lower right quadrant of the sun was the little black dot of Venus. Amazing.