On rare occasions, Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun. During the twenty-first century, it will happen twice, once in the year 2004, and once in the year 2012. Such events are called Venus Transits.
Gary Perrine wrote:It seems that every year there’s some special event to look forward to, or something unexpected that happens that makes the prime observing season one to fondly remember. For me, three years ago it was the magnificent aurora that we watched down at the hill. (That’s Peach Mountain as a matter of fact. All 98 1/2 feet of it - Ed). Two years ago it was the big aurora that graced us and everyone else at Cherry Springs. Last year it was the intense meteor that lit the sky up enough at the Black Forest Star Party that you could see your shadow on the ground.
I, like pretty much everyone else in the club, had been anxiously anticipating the June 8th transit for a long time and planning for when the morning finally arrived. Monday evening Brian Knowls and I loaded up the van with our equipment so we could spend more time sleeping in the following morning than rushing around trying to get everything together just before leaving. We were heading over to Monroe to watch the transit from Luna Pier on the shore of Lake Erie.
The following photographs were taken by Gary at Luna Pier during the last Venus Transit (the morning of June 8, 2004). Gary used a Coronado H-A scope piggybacked onto his Televue 85 and Baader solar film filter.
