Transit of Venus

Posted by: rodwsmith on 08 June 2004

Sounds like a knocking shop in an Essex car park, I know...

But I managed to get a great view of this via the use of binoculars and a piece of card. Not being an octopus, however, introducing a camera into this arrangement of holding things was not easy, but I managed to get an image:
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by P
She drives a van?



P
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by Minky
I listened to a series on the transit of Venus recently. The first time James Cook visited Tahiti his boat almost fell to pieces after his crew discovered that they could get a shag from a Tahitian woman for a nail. On the next trip he provisioned barrels of extra nails and the price skyrocketed to 10 nails. That's supply side economics for you.
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by Mekon
A pic from Sydney


I share a corridor with astronomy bods. They are squawking today, which I reckon is as good as it gets for them. They had all their gear out on the observation deck by our teabar, so I went for a gander. After a hugely underwhelming look through a couple of telescopes, I left them to it, managing to contain my comment of 'was that it?' until out of earshot.

Still, more material to use on my mate who does 'Extreme Astronomy'.
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by seagull
found on the BBC website - picture by Robin Mansford
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by Geoff P
The one thing it did do for me anyrate was bring home the true scale of things.
"Christ it's small" was my first thought.
"Christ the sun is really bloody enormous" was my second thought.

I have read the dry numbers on all this before, like distances in millions of miles and planetary diameters in terme of thousnads of miles etc BUT that did not really connect like the real thing.

Just how samll and insignificant we are is reinforced by this simple event.

regards
GEOFF

Listening every day planning to "not fade away"
Posted on: 08 June 2004 by MichaelC
Good God - looking at the picture above it really looks like a side profile of a Transit van Eek

Mike
Posted on: 09 June 2004 by domfjbrown
quote:
Originally posted by P:
She drives a van?



Oh GOD - she's a chav! Look at the size of that gold hoop earring...

I saw this through a 88x refracting (I think) telescope; I actually thought it was dirt on the lens until the guy said "no, that's it, Venus". I was expecting it to be a lot larger wrt the sun...

Just makes you realise just how big the sun really is...

__________________________
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Posted on: 09 June 2004 by Rasher
quote:
Originally posted by MichaelC:
Good God - looking at the picture above it really looks like a side profile of a Transit van Eek
Mike


Roll Eyes