Venus' trip across
the Sun draws
thousands
__________________________
At the Singapore Science
Centre,
4,000 space-lovers
turn out to watch the
rare event and are
well rewarded, thanks
to a clear sky
_______________________
(Report compiled / reproduced from various news sources)
THOUSANDS around the world had their eyes glued to the sky yesterday, for a view of one of rarest astronomical events of
the century - Venus moving across the Sun.
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| Venus looked like a black dot as it cut across
the Sun, but viewers at the Science Centre were still impressed. Transits of Venus happen in pairs. So, for those who missed
it, the next one will be in 2012. |
At the Singapore Science Centre, which arranged a special viewing session to catch the celestial event, more than 4,000
people braved the heat to see the black dot of Venus inching its way across the majestic backdrop of the Sun.
The centre's assistant chief executive for education programmes, Dr Cheong Kam Khow, said: 'We were lucky. The weather
made it a tiring job for the helpers, but because it was hot and not cloudy, people got a clear view.'
Astronomy clubs around the country also arranged special viewing sessions.
At Nanyang Polytechnic, for example, more than 200 people turned up to witness it.
Others, like 35-year-old IT executive Michael Tan, took a few minutes off from work to view the event from their offices.
Mr Tan said: 'It wasn't that spectacular but it was worth it just to see something that is so rare.'
While not as dramatic as a solar eclipse, the transit created a lot of interest because no one alive today has seen it
- the last time it happened was 122 years ago.
And unlike a solar eclipse by the Moon that is over in two or three minutes, Venus' transit went on for hours.
Viewers were careful to use special filters before viewing the event. While no one here has been known to have been blinded
by staring directly at the Sun, such incidents have happened in other parts of the world, particularly during solar eclipses.
The six-hour event was visible from Europe, north and east Africa, and most of Asia. Viewers in other parts of the world
saw part of the event.
The planet appeared as an intense black dot, looking tiny on the solar disc.
Down Under, starry-eyed Australians had a front-row view, prompting reflection on how Captain James Cook's voyage to view
the rare celestial phenomenon in 1769 had led to white settlers making their home in Australia.
Capt Cook discovered the 'unknown south land' when he was sent to Tahiti in 1769 with special telescopes to record the
transit, so his observations could be used to answer one of the great scientific questions of the day - the Earth's distance
from the Sun.
In Britain, more than 100 onlookers wearing special glasses joined scientists and journalists at London's Royal Observatory
in Greenwich to watch as the planet began its path in front of the Sun.
Venus's transit, while of limited scientific interest now, was once a key to calculate distances in space.
For the 1769 transit, expeditions were sent across the globe, including to India, California and South Africa, to take
readings.
Yesterday's transit was used by astronomers to retune instruments aboard a probe in space.
The phenomenon of planets passing in front of their suns can also be used to find new planets orbiting distant stars.
Venus' transits occur in pairs, eight years apart, separated by approximately 120 years.
Only six have ever been recorded: in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882.
The next will be in 2012, but the one after that will be in 2117.
Many Internet sites have covered the transit and observatories around the world have organised viewings.
Those who want to see some photographs taken by the Singapore Science Centre can go to www.science.edu.sg and click on
the Transit Of Venus link.
