Venus

Early on the morning of Tuesday, June 8, a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity awaits at the IU Kokomo Observatory. Clear skies permitting, visitors will be able to view the transit of Venus through the observatory telescope, starting shortly after sunrise, at 5:14 a.m. CST, and continuing until approximately 6:30 a.m. CST.

A transit is the passage of a planet across the face of the sun. As seen from Kokomo on June 8, Venus will appear as a small black circle—about 1/32nd the diameter of the sun—climbing up the lower-right side of the fiery ball.

"It’s sort of a mini-eclipse," said Rick Steldt, observatory director.

The last transit occurred in 1882. Hence, "no one alive today has ever seen a transit of Venus," said Steldt, who is an associate professor of physics for IU Kokomo. The next transit of Venus will occur on June 6, 2012. The following one won’t happen until the 22nd century, on Dec. 11, 2117.

To accommodate the most visitors for this year’s transit viewing, Steldt plans two approaches to showing the planet’s trek across the sun’s face.
"If there is not a big demand, we will allow individuals to look at the transit through the observatory telescope," he said. If a long line of viewers starts forming, Steldt will attach a video eyepiece to the telescope and transmit the image seen through the telescope to a television monitor outside of the observatory. "We don’t want anyone to come to the observatory and not be able to see the transit," he said.

He also noted that the view of the transit from the observatory will be temporarily obscured until the sun rises above surrounding treetops. But, he believes that the observatory still offers a great and safe view.

"Looking directly at the sun at any time can cause permanent damage to the eyes," he said. "We’ll have solar filters on all the telescopes at the observatory, so you can see the transit safely here."