Venus Transit, June 8, 2004

On June 8 2004, Venus could be seen passing in front of the sun. It's been 120 years since this last happened. In my part of the world, only the last hour of the transit could be seen. Here at 6:03 a.m. Venus was just about to touch the East limb of the sun (my telescope sees a mirror image so it looks like the west limb). The next time Venus can be seen crossing the face of the sun will be in 2012. At that time it will be visible in its entirety over North America. Venus transits occur in pairs 8 years apart, and about 120 years between pairs.

8" F10 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope, 40mm eyepiece, Canon G2 at 1.8x
F2.2, 1/10 sec, ISO 50
Single shot, contrast adjusted