The Anonymous Widower

A Glorious Celestial Display

The next few months are very exciting if you are an astronomer or even just someone interested in the stars.  This excellent summary from the BBC lays it out well. Last night, I was able to see Venus and Jupiter above the houses at about six, as I walked to the bus to go to Islington. So if I can see it in Central London, the view must be much better, where there is no light pollution.

The article mentions a Transit of Venus in June. I was lucky enough to observe the one in 2004 from Suffolk.

Considering they occur rarely, Iwas very lucky. In 2004, no-one actually was able to watch their second Transit of Venus, as the previous one had occurred in 1882.

Wikipedia says this about their frequency.

Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.

I’ll try and find the pictures, I took at the time.

March 12, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | World | Astronomy, Venus