Venus Transits the Sun
June 8 2004
Meade 10" LX 200 Prime Focus Orion Full Aperture Solar Filter
Nikon F3 Kodak Gold 400 Film Exposure: 1/125 sec @ F 10
Digital File Processed with MaxIM DL & Adobe Photoshop 7
Image Credit: Fred Calvert Cold Spring Observatory Cold Spring, KY
One of the rarest observable astronomy events took place on June 8, 2004 as Venus crossed the face of the Sun for the first time in 122 years. Eastern residents of North America had a chance to see the final moments of the transit, which ended around 7:25 a.m. EDT. This photo was taken at 7:00 a.m. EDT. Venus transits the face of the Sun on a strange schedule. The last one was in 1882 but the next one will occur soon, on June 5 2012 and will be visible from anywhere in the United States. The transit will be seen on the East Coast starting at around 6:05 PM EDT and last till sunset. The West Coast will see the transit end around 9:45 PM PDT. West Coast observers will be able to view the full 6+ hour event