Look Out For Rare Space Spectacle

IOL ^ | 6-6-2004

[martin_fierro]

Fuhgeddabahtit, California.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

So it's already over?

[cripplecreek]

Don't suppose we can convince democrats that it's safe to stare into the sun do you?

[RightWhale]

These reports are often, maybe usually, in GMT. That's fine for the provincials in England. How about American time.

[Ditter]

Nah, think about it. If ALL the democraps were blind they would ALL go on welfare & they would want us to lead them around & wait on them.

[hunter112]

And the difference would be?

[mikrofon]

Good compendium of info on the event...

[Thinkin' Gal]

My husband rigged up some variant of the pinhole viewer for our little starter telescope, taping cardboard around it and I don't know what else. We were playing with it the other day and it worked nicely. We didn't even burn a hole in the paper, heh. He can't wait to try it out for the Venus show.

Where we are, we'll be able to see the whole thing, so at least we've got a few hours for the sun to peep out. Today it has been beautiful, bright and sunny. Well, there goes our alotted sunny day for the next couple of weeks. :-(

[gargoyle]

...Tuesday, June 8th...

[gargoyle]

...On the east coast at sunrise. Look at the top quarter of the sun. That's actually a great time to look at the sun, plenty of atmosphere to block the harmful rays. You will need a five power or better telescope, maybe a good set of binoculars. (solar reflector optional for the US). Venus will rise to top of the sun. The event will only last an hour or two, the further west, the shorter the duration. Good Luck, folks...

[Aeronaut]

And the difference would be?

During daylight time the EST subtracts 4 hours, Central 5 hours, Mountain 6 hours, Pacific 7 hours. During standard time its 5, 6, 7, 8.

[Verginius Rufus]

They got lunar eclipses and solar eclipses mixed up. A solar eclipse happens when the moon comes between the earth and the sun, and therefore can be likened to the transit of Mercury or Venus across the face of the sun. A lunar eclipse happens when the full moon travels through the earth's shadow.

[Monty22]

Yeah, they did mess that up. Quite sloppy reporting.

[RightWhale]

Last sunrise at Prudhoe Bay was May 22. The sun just goes round and round. What time is the transit EDT so they know when to clear a path through the mosquitoes?

[gargoyle]

...Shht, I missed that. An astronomy amateur. Don't I feel the fool. Thanks, good on yer...

[R. Scott]

Don't suppose we can convince democrats that it's safe to stare into the sun do you?

Make sure you remind them to use a pair of high power binoculars - 10X50 at least.

[gargoyle]

...Mosquitoes. In Prudhoe Bay? I'm on the Chesapeake Bay. I suggest a mosquito net... The sun goes round and,,, doesn't set in the far north. I could conclude that Prudhoe Bay is north of the Arctic Circle, at least after May 22. Alaska? It's late here on the east coast. Don't make me research geographics. Does time go by faster at the north pole, than at the equator???

...Uhhh, I'm not sure about transit EDT. My guess is the farther north, the more of the northern sky will be visible...

...Thanks for evolving some ideas I might not have thunk on my own. If yer have any more questions about science, ask a scientist...%!)

[RightWhale]

Then you live on the edge of a massive meteor strike many millions of years ago. Is your well water salty?

[Robert A Cook PE]

Yeppers.

That far north, the sun spirals gently round and round the horizon: at midnight the sun is due north and few degrees above the horizon. At 6:00 am (when the transit occurs in EDT) it is due east, at noon, it is due south (and a few degrees higher than at midnight!) and is due west at 6:00 pm.