Tuesday, May 22, 2012

TRANSIT OF VENUS: A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT -JUNE 5-6,2012






Unless you plan to live for another 100 years, be sure to watch the daytime skyat the beginning of June. Our neighbouring planet Venus will appear as a black dot because it will pan across the face of our sun.
... On June 5 and 6, be prepared to look outsideduring the day. The once-in-a-lifet ime event will last for about six hours on both days and will not occur again until the year 2117.
The safest way to observe a transit is to project the image of the Sun through atelescope, binoculars, or pinhole onto a screen, but the event can be viewed with the naked eye using filters specifically designed for this purpose, such as an astronomical solar filter with a vacuum-deposite d layer of chromium, eclipse viewing glasses, or Grade 14 welder's glass. An earlier method of using exposed black-and-white film as a filter is no longer regarded as safe, as small imperfections or gaps in the film may permit damaging UV rays to pass through. Also, processed color film (unlike black-and-white film) does not contain silver, and is transparent to infra-red. This may result in burns to the retina. Observing the Sun directly without filters can cause a temporary or permanent loss ofvisual function, as it can damage or destroy retinal cells

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