# The official SDMB Annular Eclipse AND Transit of Venus Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728 "2012-04-03T20:12:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/101 "2012-06-06T03:22:46Z")
Looking through my pictures, I love the fact that I’ve also captured sunspots, which I didn’t notice at the time. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/102 "2012-06-06T04:57:52Z")
Was quite cloudy today until maybe 1 hour before the end. I took my camera, set it to lowest exposure settings and max zoom, and grabbed a piece of welding glass around: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronx85/7343983460/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronx85/7343983460/) Staring at the sun isn’t bad for my camera, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/103 "2012-06-06T05:09:46Z")
The transit finished about 20 minutes ago, and the weather continued patchy throughout. It cleared around 1130 to give us some great views of the maximum transit. But then the clouds and rain closed in again. We got a few final glimpses of 4th contact, and that was it. Even so, it was great fun. After it finished many in the crowd were discussing their next objective: Cairns for the total solar eclipse on 14 November. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/104 "2012-06-06T05:15:47Z")
I think the rule should be that anyone who got pics should share, for those of us who had no chance to see it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/105 "2012-06-06T05:37:41Z")
Another [photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/7158860601/in/photostream), just before sunset. Taken with my Criterion 4000 (effective FL~1,200 mm) and my Nikon D90, using 1 sheet of aluminized mylar as a filter. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/106 "2012-06-06T12:51:38Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > I got curious about the distances involved so I did a little research: > > Right now Venus is about 108,000,000 km (67,000,000 mi) from the Sun. > > Earth is about 150,000,000 km (93,000,000 mi) from the Sun. > > So Venus is considerably closer to us (about 42,000,000 km or 26,000,000 mi) than it is to the Sun. > > (All distances approximate) And remember, this is a world that is almost the size of Earth. That should give you some idea of the size of the Sun, and the distances involved in the Solar System. Transits of Venus actually were used historically to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/107 "2012-06-06T13:09:16Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > So wait, are they saying that you can look at the sun through a random cd? I’m confused. > > I’m trying to figure out what household materials would make acceptable veiwer things. I wouldn’t use any. If you damage your eyes looking at the Sun, **there is nothing anybody can do to fix it**. Is that a chance you really want to take? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/108 "2012-06-06T14:54:14Z")
I got some decent pictures, not great. [Here’s](http://i.imgur.com/yCq6j.jpg) [two](http://i.imgur.com/RKMuC.jpg) just as Venus is coming across the Sun. [My favorite is this one](http://i.imgur.com/ShkDj.jpg?1), which is grainy and blown out, but when I boosted the levelsin Photoshop, the “ring of fire” Venus might (might) be visible. It could just be an artifact, but it doesn’t show up in any other picture, and it was taken at about the right time for it. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/109 "2012-06-06T16:32:31Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > And remember, this is a world that is almost the size of Earth. That should give you some idea of the size of the Sun, and the distances involved in the Solar System. > > Transits of Venus actually were used historically to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun. That’s what I was thinking when I was watching yesterday- “How big must the Sun be for Venus to look so tiny when it is so much closer to us?” It’s like when I see videos of solar flares or the recent “tornadoes” on the surface of the Sun and they say “Keep in mind these are quite a bit larger than our entire planet.” Truly mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/110 "2012-06-06T16:53:49Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > That’s what I was thinking when I was watching yesterday- “How big must the Sun be for Venus to look so tiny when it is so much closer to us?” > > It’s like when I see videos of solar flares or the recent “tornadoes” on the surface of the Sun and they say “Keep in mind these are quite a bit larger than our entire planet.” Truly mind-boggling. It is indeed. But [seeing more comparisons](http://www.kiroastro.com/writings/perspective) really brings our insignificance home. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728/111 "2012-06-06T22:55:02Z")
Here are some [photos](http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/observations-blog/) of the crowds at the Observatory in Sydney yesterday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sdmb-annular-eclipse-and-transit-of-venus-thread/617728.md?page=5)