A private glimpse of Transit of Venus

The legendary Captain Cook travelled halfway round the world to witness it, sighting the eastern coastline of Terra Australis in the process. Contemporary astrophysicists and enthusiasts all around the globe were queuing up eagerly for that once-in-a-century event.

But one very lucky group of school children got to witness the rare astronomical phenomenon live, without having to even go to the Observatory.

The Stage 2 students at Strathfield North Primary School (SNPS) experienced first-hand, the much talked about Transit of Venus, thanks to the initiative of erudite hobby astronomer and school parent Michael Richardson.

Richardson’s personal telescope was specially fitted with a customdesigned solar filter to block out 99.99% of the light, thus making it safe to focus directly at the sun. Prior to the viewing, he also spoke to the students about safe observation techniques.

Scientists warn that looking at the sun with the naked eye can cause instant, irreversible damage, including blindness. For most enthusiasts though, the unique phenomenon was only available through live webcasts.

“Can you see the small black dot? That is Venus against the backdrop of the sun,” Richardson patiently explained to the excited children as each took a turn at viewing our celestial neighbour.

Luckily for these children who will explore space and the solar system next term as part of their academic curriculum, the sun chose not to play spoilsport for a few brief hours.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to view this once in a lifetime event and I would really like to thank Harry’s dad a lot,” said Saakshi.

Solveig felt very special to have seen this extraordinary event, while Dominic was delighted to be looking through such a powerful telescope. “We wouldn’t normally get this chance. The school doesn’t have that kind of equipment,” he said.

“Our class was thrilled to bits peering inside the huge telescope,” stated Saarangan.

“It was amazing how you could see Venus so clearly and I was thankful that Mr Richardson brought in the telescope,” added Dion.

“The sun looked like the moon and we could see a black dot on the bottom half of the sun,” said Isabel describing the phenomenon.

Sachin was pleased to learn more about Venus, because, as he explained, “it will help us when we learn about space next term.” The verdict was unanimous –the experience was awesome and we loved it, said one and all. In fact, other stages also managed a quick peek.

“We will also be visiting the Sydney Observatory next term for a practical learning component, so this is a wonderful opportunity for our kids and ties in with our key learning areas,” added Stage Coordinator Mrs Leanne Heyward.

Rarer than the Halley’s Comet, the seven-hour passage of Venus occurs in pairs, eight years apart, separated in gaps of a little over 100 years, and was seen as a little black dot gliding across the sun’s surface.

Historically, this particular alignment helped scientists configure the size and dimensions of our solar system as well as measuring the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The phenomenon was visible in Sydney from 8.16 am to 2.44 pm on June 6. The event occurred last on June 8, 2004, and is next scheduled for December 11, 2117. So far only six transits have been observed in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004.

Usha Ramanujam Arvind