Venus Transit follow-up

[merle]

OK, now that everyone has had a chance to rest and catch their breath... I'd like to ask everyone who wishes to post their Transit story, experience, best comment heard, photo, VIDEO, etc.
Where did you observe from? Did anyone see it all the way to the horizon? Remember, this is for posterity. In 105 years they'll re-read this forum and be in awe

-

[Jon Hickman]

I set up 4 of my scopes at my church in Medina. Did not do a lot of "advertising" but still managed to have about 120-125 people stop by and take a peek. Very fun, as besides church members and staff, some neighbors or people driving or biking past dropped in to see. Very low key event, but lots of fun. We were able to track the event until about 8:22pm when we finally lost the sun in the distant treeline.

My favorite comment of the night was a 6 or 7 year old who said: "I don't see anything, just a big orange circle with a black dot on it..."

[wardenmsp]

I've got to update my account. We set up my PST in the back alley behind our house in S. Minneapolis (it's the only place with a clear view of the Sun in the afternoon). I had passed out informal flyers to the five or six neighbors I know. We had 9 adults and 9 kids between 5 PM and 5:40, when I had to leave.

[wkocken]

I set up in my front yard using binoculars and projecting onto a card. My wife looked for about 10 seconds and said "that nice dear, now lets go out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner" After we returned she went in the house and I took another look and took a couple of photos of the setup and the projection. I posted 4 picures on Facebook ( yeah, yeah, I know.). I got good feedback from my brother in New Orleans (who was clouded out). my sons friend (who attempted unsucessfully to see it through welders goggles) and my daughter's in-laws (who also did the bino projection thing). No neighbors stopped by.

I don't usually get too excited about astronomical "events", but this one was an exception because it is so rare and, for once, the weather and the time of day cooperated.

Bill

[MarkC]

I purchased 25 (min purchase) eclipse glasses and handed them out to friends and family several weeks before the event. My neighbor used them in Utah (on vacation) to see the solar eclipse from a motel parking lot with many other people staying there. We went to AZ to visit our son to make sure we have a clear sky setting up in his back yard to see ~½ the transit. I could have moved to a more remote site to see maybe another hour of the transit but it was 101F and having an air conditioned house to go in between photos was a must. Our son and my wife also saw the transit through the scope and with the eclipse glasses. I had a similar experience as Bill, my wife wanted to make sure the transit was over in time to go out to eat. I also got feedback from friends and family on their delight in seeing the transit through the eclipse glasses.

Mark

[lhoen]

I set up my double-stacked PST in my driveway and invited my neighbors to stop by until about 7 pm when the sun began crossing over my nieghbors roof! About 10-15 adults and 7-8 kids were wowed! Some of the kids knew more about it than that adults, but everyone enjoyed seeing it.

[mtuepker]

I'll remember it as a gorgeous day spent w/ a large group of avid astronomers just taking it all in. I'm glad it's something I was able to do with my son, even though he will have no memory of it!


Venus_Transit_Panorama by mtuepker, on Flickr

[Enberg]

I went to Hawaii to see the whole thing. Astronomy group tour headlined by Sky and Telescope magazine. Watched 1st and 2nd contact in crystal clear skies from 13,600 ft atop Mauna Kea next to the Subaru telescope installation. Then relocated to the 9,000 ft level where there was a public star party going on at the Mauna Kea Visitor's Information Center. Hundreds of people, dozens of telescopes of all types, and some new age types who were beating drums and chanting.......... I was part of a small subgroup who were observing together - between us we had H-Alpha, white light binocs, white light telescope, and something I had never seen before called a "Hershell Prism" (?) that gave green views with fantastic contrast through an 80-mm short-tube refractor. Mist started moving in at that level toward the last third of the transit, so we had the option to relocate to the summit or to go to the beach. So we chose the beach where we saw third and fourth contact, shortly followed by a Hawaiian sunset where some people reported seeing a "green flash" although I didn't. Fantastic day!!! I took some snapshot-type pictures which I haven't looked at on a bigger screen yet.

[Dale Smith]

Here is the link to the Wikipedia article on Herschel prisms or wedges:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_wedge

[Enberg]

One more thing that I thought was funny - the local newspaper in Hawaii had a Transit photo on the front page the next morning, and one of the other tour participants was groaning that, while the rest of the world watched the NASA feed from right there at Mauna Kea, the local newspaper printed a Transit photo from Minnesota.........I just had to check - thought it might be one of us but it was someone in Brainerd whose picture got picked by AP or Reuters or whatever.

[Deane Clark]

Here is the link to the Wikipedia article on Herschel prisms or wedges:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_wedge

Kurt had his Baader Planetarium Herschel wedge at Onan. Pretty cool device. It has a translucent screen on the back for aiming.

Here's the page on OPT's site:
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid ... schel&st=2

[ValtsTreibergs]

I set up my C-11 at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear. About 25 or so passers-by caught the transit, and I was able to get some shots myself.

Valts Treibergs

[Huggy]

I setup my 6" Refractor with a white light fitler, my 25X100 Binoculars with white light filters, and my 4" astroscan with a projections screen. I was located in a park in Columbia Heights MN and had about 30 poeple total look though my equipment. I took some photos with my Cell and with my Cannon Camera mounted to the 6". It was a fun event.