Posted on 06/06/2004 9:43:44 AM PDT by blam
Look out for rare space spectacle
June 06 2004 at 04:12PM
Hamburg - Tuesday's transit of Venus in front of the sun will be only the sixth such event observed by humans, and astronomers say nobody alive today has seen the phenomenon, which is barely noticeable because it only imperceptibly reduces visible sunlight.
Past transits in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882 were monitored from Earth. Slight differences in the start and finish time were used to roughly calculate the distance of the sun from the Earth.
The transit will be visible from all parts of Earth where the sun is in the sky between approximately 0513 and 1126 GMT, according to Nasa astronomers.
The actual contact times for any given observer may differ by seven minutes plus or minus.
Countries between Morocco and Thailand, including most of Africa, will see the transit in its entirety.
Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia will witness the beginning of the transit but the Sun will set before the event ends. Observers in western Africa, eastern North America, the Caribbean and most of South America will only see the end of the transit.
A lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes in front of the sun, as seen from the Earth. Transits are similar in concept, as they happen when one of the two planets closer to the sun than the Earth - Mercury or Venus -passes across the disc of the sun. - Sapa-dpa
Mee too!!, the SOB just started blowing out hot air. I had a Kerry moment. :)
SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CGEB is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's silly ;~D
Interesting!!!!
I stared at the sun all day, and didn't see a thing.
Last night the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty was discussed as the main impediment to exploration of space. We are reduced to watching the transit of Venus instead of developing that planet or any planet for its resources. Pull up a chair and watch the parade.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.