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transit of venus - june 8th 2004
The passage of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun is one of the rarest astronomical events. The last transit of Venus, which occurred on December 6th, 1882, provided astronomers with a golden opportunity to calculate the distance between Earth and the Sun by measuring the various contact times.
The transit of June 3rd, 1769, was a particularly important historical event since Captain James Cook was sent to Tahiti to observe the transit before heading west to discover Australia.
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Shortly after 1st contact, the black disk of Venus slowly became visible at the Sun's limb (above). Then the famous 'black-drop' effect appeared as Venus passed fully over the Sun's disk (right).
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As the afternoon progressed, a thin layer of cloud appeared and produced some interesting photographic effects (above & left). Then, only two hours after the transit began, the blood red Sun slipped behind a distant tree before dipping below the horizon (below).
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all images by Lloyd Shield
nikon D70 digital camera
prime focus of newtonian reflector
1000mm focal length at f/16
please email us for image reproduction
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