Transit of Venus over the Sun

After 122 years a small dot will be seen crossing the sun next week. A physicist admits: it's a bit slow and boring. Another scientist explains that the main importance is that you can say you watched it

4.6.2004

Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/venustransit001.html

Once in a lifetime Venus passes across the Sun

Voila system!
Next Tuesday, an extremely rare astronomical phenomenon will occur, when the planet Venus will pass in front of the Sun. The last time this happened was exactly 122 years ago and naturally there are no living witnesses to the event. The rare spectacle will appear as half of a small dot on the underside of the sun.

The AP agency reported that thousands of schools and hundreds of museums across the US are preparing for the unique event and are preparing dedicated viewing sites. The astronomical experience will last about six hours. In Israel, the Astronomical Club of Tel Aviv University will hold a special day for the occasion, and will broadcast the transit of Venus on its website.

"It's a bit slow and boring," explains astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, "but of indescribable historical importance." According to him, in the 18th and 19th centuries the event was like the "race to space" because scientists in those periods tried to estimate the distance of the sun from the earth, and thus the distance to the other stars. He pointed out that today watching the suit of Venus on the surface of the sun is like "connecting with history through a visit to a historical site".

Advertisement Roger Sinnott, editor of "Sky and Telescope" magazine, provides another explanation for why it is important to watch the astronomical phenomenon - simply so you can say you saw something that no one alive today has seen. According to him, the tickets issued to his readers for three organized trips to Italy, in order to view Venus, sold out quickly.

In a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, it will be possible to watch from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Although it is theoretically possible to observe the slow flight of Venus without telescopes or binoculars, the scientists warn viewers that viewing the Sun without proper protective measures is dangerous and may damage the eye, just as in the case of a solar eclipse.

Observation and study day at Tel Aviv University

Based on a reservation on the Open University website

The School of Physics and Astronomy of Tel Aviv University is pleased to announce the holding of a seminar on the occasion of the transit of the planet Venus across the sun's disk, on Tuesday, June 8 from 08:30 a.m. to 15:30 p.m. The transit is a rare astronomical event that last occurred in 1882. During the transit, the disc of Venus will be seen passing against the background of the Sun's disc.

On the occasion of the rare event, the "Astronomical Club" of the School of Physics and Astronomy, with the assistance of the Wise Observatory, is organizing a seminar at Tel Aviv University. The symposium includes a series of lectures, a public observation, and a scientific exhibition. The observations will be made with telescopes that have protective measures to prevent visual damage that may be caused to the eye by sunlight. The study day is intended for high school students from grade XNUMX and above (preferably students of the science division). Below is the list of lectures:

One hour a subject lecturer
10:30-10:45 Prof. Yuval Neman opening remarks
10:45-11:15 Prof. Michael Hersgur "Captain Cook's scientific voyages of discovery"
11:15-11:45 Prof. Zvi Maza "The first observations of the transit of Venus"
11:45-12:15 Prof. Ben-Zion Kozlovsky "The Sun"
12:15-13:45 – break
13:45-14:20 Prof. Hagai Netzer "From Venus to the Edge of the Universe: The Cosmological Distance Scale"
14:20-14:50 Prof. Morris Podolek "The planet Venus: Earth's twin?"
14:50-15:30 Prof. Amiel Sternberg "The Mission: Mars"

For more information, you can contact the organizers of the "Astronomical Club": Keren Sharon, Eran Ofek and Petah Lipkin at tel. 6405112-03, or to Dr. Noah Brosh, director of the Wise Observatory, at tel. 6407413-03.

Viewers should be warned against viewing the direction of the sun without proper protection; This may cause irreversible damage to the sight!