Venus Transit Resources

The Dunlap Institute (DI) is partnering with RASC, CASCA, and FAAQ on a national Transit of Venus outreach initiative. The DI is funding 100% of the purchase of 40,000 pairs of eclipse/ transit glasses for the May 20 partial eclipse and the June 5 Transit of Venus. These are for distribution to as many public observing events across Canada as we can collectively manage to make happen.

In return for this gift, RASC and FAAQ will bulk distribute and hand out the viewers at public events. The official logo and URL of each organization will be placed on the side arms of the eclipse viewers. Basic safety information will be printed on the inside of the side arms, in English and French.

A bilingual handout is now being prepared for distribution with the glasses.

Ideas for Activities during Transit Public Events

I am working on a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation for the March 7 Toronto Centre meeting on ideas for activities during public outreach events. I intend to discuss:

• safety at events
• this excellent Web site with timing information
• how to connect a camera from a solar scope into a computer monitor so many people can safely watch at the same time
• why Transits of Venus are so rare, mentioning tilted orbits and nodes
• how timing transits from northern and southern locations allowed the size of the Earth’s orbit to be calculated centuries ago to within about 2% of the modern value
• the rich history of expeditions to observe transits and how they were an early example of international scientific cooperation
• how exoplanets, even of the size of Earth, are being detected from transits of other stars by the Kepler and COROT spacecraft
• how eventually biosignatures such as oxygen might be detected in atmospheres of planets around other stars
• other ideas I might learn about – suggestions appreciated

This PowerPoint file will be posted on the RASC Web site, so any Centre will be able to use it if desired.

We, Stephen and Lynn Bedingfield, are putting together an informal Transit of Venus Project for the Yellowknife area and are seeking expressions of interest from serious observers who will travel to Yellowknife to observe the Transit. We are interested in serving as hosts so your stay will be more enjoyable in our fair city.

If seriously interested in seeing the Transit from Yellowknife, please email us here.

This is a non-commercial service to our fellow observers, and we assume no liability whatsoever with regards to this project.

Project Description

• To observe the 2012 Transit of Venus (Tuesday, 2012 June 5) from a suitable observing site in the Yellowknife area, Northwest Territories.
• In the 2012 Observer’s Handbook and on his Web site, Jay Anderson states, “To see the entire transit, travel to Canada’s northern regions is required. Yellowknife offers the most promising cloud and sunshine statistics of any northern site, Europe or North America, with sunshine hours averaging 64 percent of the maximum – and you can drive there.”
• Obtaining optimal weather predictions and having the capability to relocate as necessary are critical to this project. Several prime observing sites have been scouted and are being considered.
• To host visiting amateur astronomers to Yellowknife, and to facilitate their visit.
• Should there be a great demand, we may need to limit the number of participants we can serve.