Venus Transit Watchers' thread

Hi all!!

Well, I took a days leave here to watch this event and hope these pictures are of interest to everybody. Weather here was gorgeous first thing, though there was some high altitude cloud towards the end of the event.

I didn't start observing until 0750 BST (all times are thus recorded) so please subtract 1 hour for equivalent UTC eg 0750 BST = 0650 UTC. This was because houses to the East of my property prevented a clear view of the Sun until around this time.

First image 0751 BST




Second image 0928 BST




Third image 1117 BST





Fourth image 1203 BST




These are just a sample - I took 43 photographs in total (I won't get another chance after all!! )

This is the telescope I used and a view of the site, which is my "back yard".




Which is a 200mm SCT, fork equatorially mounted of British design and make.

I hope these pictures are of use and of interest. Whilst not of high quality, they are "genuine" and haven't been enhanced in any way (trust me!!).

awesome pics genya! and what a beautiful scope you have!

Excellent photos, Geyna, and a nice 'scope you have. If you put anymore online, please link us in. I did not get to observe the transit firshand, but ATS has proved its worth in yet another way. It has the handiest and most complete collection of Venus-transit resources I have seen yet. Thanks everyone for the contributions.

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
awesome pics genya! and what a beautiful scope you have!

Thank you ckk!!

The photographs were taken by eyepiece projection (as you can see!!) simply onto white photocopier paper sellotaped onto a piece of card, and hand held, rather than fixed by an extension rod to the telescope. This meant I had more control over the image scale although it means that the images aren't necessarily "square on" to the telescopes axis ie the resultant image(s) might not make the Sun appear exactly "spherical" (in case some people think the Sun is changing shape.... )

The telescope was made by a small British company - Photon - who did bespoke telescopes rather than mass production. Here is a view down the "business end" so to speak, showing the baffle and corrector plate.




Thank you again ckk for your interest - the transit was fabulous (far better than my trip in August 1999 to watch the Solar Eclipse in UK which was rainned on!! )

Darn!!!!!!! you people have all the fun, here in GA is cloudy and nasty.

Originally posted by marg6043
Darn!!!!!!! you people have all the fun, here in GA is cloudy and nasty.

It doesn't *always* rain in UK marg, despite what the stereotype might say!!

I'll publish a few of my August 1999 eclipse photo's sometime, and share my "wet" moment with you all!!

GENYA, THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very awesome pictures. I live on the West Coast USA, so no chance in hell we where going to see such an awesome event as this.


GREAT WORK!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by robertfenix
...I live on the West Coast USA, so no chance in hell we where going to see such an awesome event as this.

Thank you Robert (and Spectre, who, as yet is unacknowledged )

Well, things were perfect for us here in UK - weather, timing, everything - so I wanted to take advantage.

I "promised" a photograph of my Eclipse 1999 trip to Penzance - quite a few miles away from here, all taken on a chartered train (left the station at home at midnight, to get to Penance around 0900). Going through Exeter - around 0500 - the weather was fair and promising - *this* was taken at 1115 BST:






Mind you, the effect was fantastic - birds flying back to roost, thousands (literally!) of "one-use" camera's "flashing" around the harbour - and the ever encroaching darkness as the shadow raced towards us.

(Very many apologies for going off thread but I *did* promise a photo of the eclipse!! )

The pictures are very nice good work, and the last one is my favorite it looks just like a regular GA day at this time of the year

AHEM!!!!!!!!!

U may have not noticed but someone else posted a lot of information on this a couple of days ago!!

Baked worked hard to get this Info and i am sure u mean no harm *shifty eyes* but he started a topic EXACTLY the same as this!!!

Baked's Thread

Now...please...pay attention and use the SEARCH button!!!

Mods...can u add this thread into Baked's?

He did start it after all!

Originally posted by Gryffen
Mods...can u add this thread into Baked's?

He did start it after all!

well actually... www.abovetopsecret.com...

so maybe all of this should be added into mine? naw...

well whatever

the mods get on at us for not using the search button and then they go and do the same *make a repeated post* and get away with it.

its no fair.

I found some good pictures of the Venus transit here. No doubt there will be loads more this week.

www.reuters.com... 84

This i like, it was shot from Mount White, Australia



I saw it for myself fore about 10 seconds. Its amazing how amazing 10 seconds can be.

Uh gryf, the threads are not the same topics. One is regarding the SOHO images, this one is regarding ways to view the transit.

Seeing as it happens less than once every hundred years, I think we can stand to have more than one thread about this event.

Pretty awesome stuff, folks -- and Genya, wonderful shots of the scope and your viewing technique!

Gryffen, you might not like my putting up the topic, but the purpose was to give folks on ATS a thread (and keep it bumped to the top for visitors) where we could post links to the transit as it happened. This way, people wandering onto the board could quickly find out where to go to find webcasts of the transit. It wasn't meant to be a discussion -- only real-time reporting.

...and that's why it was 'different' than the other threads.

Hi all!!

Seriously "back at work" today, following my day off (there's no cover, is there?!!)

Gryff, I knew there were other threads but felt the title of this one was the most apt (for the photo's I wanted to share), as it related to "watchers" rather than any sort of technical debate (IMO anyway). So, I hope you (and any others) don't think i was trying to "rob2 people of points for other thread posts: rather than start my own thread, I chose to upload the pictures for others perusal in a thread that already existed.

And, it will be the last I'll witness ie I won't go to observe the 2012 transit - though I'd dearly love to see an Total Solar Eclipse befoe I "turn up my toes"!!

Apologies, then, if any harm has been done.