Photographs by professors Tom Balonek and Roger Rowlett provide a vlog vantage point of an event that won’t occur again for more than 100 years, the transit of Venus.
A lecture about the transit by Jonathan Levine, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was attended by about 100 people at the Ho Science Center on June 5.
More than 60 stargazers, amateur astronomers, and interested observers from the vlog and area communities later had a chance to view the transit safely at the university observatory.
The rare phenomenon of when Venus crosses in front of the sun won’t happen again for more than 100 years.
“The forecast for the next pair of transits on December 10-11, 2117 and December 8, 2125 is not so good. The 2117 transit will not be visible from most of the U.S., including Hamilton, and the 2125 transit will be during our winter gloom months with a low likelihood of successful viewing. (But if it’s clear, get out by 8:30 AM EST and the entire transit will be visible until almost 2:00 PM!) The next best opportunity to view the transit will be on June 11, 2247 at sunrise until about 10:30 AM EDT, when Venus egresses from the sun’s disk. You gotta plan ahead for these things!”