Object Name: Venus Transit

Observation Info

Imaging Info

- Date/Time: 2004-06-08

- Camera: Canon EOS 10D

- Location: Waterford, MI

- Scope/Lens: Questar 700mm

- Limiting Magnitude:

NOTES:

It is a composite, because the Sun was overexposed in the frame showing the tree silhouette from Waterford Michigan.

We had an intensely red, banded Sun.  The spot was peculiar, so unlike a giant sunspot.  The inky,
perfectly round spot on the flattened Sun was somehow familiar . . . it immediately called up memories of Jupiter
shadow transits.  Clouds striping the Sun reinforced the illusion.  I felt I was standing on a tropical moon, getting
a closeup view of a Jovian world through the trees.  Truly unearthly.  These minutes were the best.

Before long, the gas giant was clear of the trees and punched through the clouds, and the time to see it unfiltered
was over.  Our H-alpha scope was barely useable earlier, but was getting adequate light after about a half hour.
Venus was the perfect little black disk.  Totally out of place among the wispy solar features.  The solar disk had
several decent little prominences and an active region on the disk not far from Venus.  The white light view was
also worthwhile, especially when Venus lined up on the Sun's rim at third contact.  The size difference was then
brought home.  In a solar eclipse, the Moon challenges the Sun.  With Venus, reality came home, a star is a
massive thing..  The pace of the transit was restful, compared to the scramble during a total solar eclipse.
 We got a selection of photos, but observed directly from 3rd to 4th contacts, looking for the black drop in rippling air.
We watched for the last hint of Venus by the chromosphere.