Transit of Venus

[Mr. Pseudonym]

http://venustransit.nasa.gov/webcasts/

Transit of Venus. This is once in a lifetime!

Next one is in 2117. Better view it so you can say you viewed it live!

[popeter123]

i\'ll see it in 4 hours >

[NovaSilisko]

[ddavis425]

I was lucky enough to see the transit in KSP, as well as the real one.

[Jesus KerBeard]

Finally, something visible from Australia and not a cloud in the sky.

And I can\'t see a goddamn thing. Too small I suppose.

[GOOMH]

My old Walmart Refracting Telescope eye piece broke but I was able to get a good projection using the viewfinder. Of course I loss clarity but I still saw the tiny speck of Venus on that white disk of the sun.

[Rascal Nag]

There were so many clouds for so long, but at about 7 I saw blue out of my window and got optimistic. At around 7:40, I saw the sun clearly beginning to poke out of some clouds, but it was behind trees. Since the sun wouldn\'t set until 8:30 or so, I got my Dad to drive me out to anywhere with a low horizon, first a random parking lot of some building presumably for offices, then a Wegman\'s parking lot across the street. The first one was no good because there were a few trees just in the way in the distance and the Sun had gone behind another cloud, but at the Wegman\'s parking lot, I managed to get the solar telescope on it JUST as the sun poked out from the newer cloud. I only had a few seconds before it went behind another though, I couldn\'t even see the whole sun. But I managed to see Venus. I couldn\'t get any pictures, and it wasn\'t what you would call crisp since I didn\'t have time to focus it (plus I was a bit hyper trying to just aim the thing, so I was really just too fast to effectively get it done), but I saw it. And then the Sun went below the other clouds.

Awesome.

[NannerManCan]

http://i.imgur.com/S0Ger.jpg

Woot

[popeter123]

is it safe to look at it with relly dark sunglasses?

[NovaSilisko]

is it safe to look at it with relly dark sunglasses?

If you don\'t mind searing your retina.

[popeter123]

my mums a retired optishion

she knows best about eyes!

[Kryten]

is it safe to look at it with relly dark sunglasses?

No.

[popeter123]

than how can i see it

it 3:36AM for me so cant buy a telescope or magnafier!

[Kryten]

Do you have any food (e.g. cereal) that comes in that plastic-foil packing? Tear some of that up, so you can look through a few layers. Look through it at a bright light bulb; if you can see it, at all, add more layers.

[Ydoow]

I was at school about to take a test.

I knew I was missing it, so I got desperate and tried to look right into it.

ow.

[popeter123]

Do you have any food (e.g. cereal) that comes in that plastic-foil packing? Tear some of that up, so you can look through a few layers. Look through it at a bright light bulb; if you can see it, at all, add more layers.

well i have a coke bottel

I was at school about to take a test.

I knew I was missing it, so I got desperate and tried to look right into it.

ow.

not me it my half term ;D

[Tiberion]

well i have a coke bottelnot me it my half term ;D

You actually have me a bit worried that you\'ll try something foolish - If you are not prepared please don\'t attempt to view the sun. You\'re better off just viewing the webstreams of professionals who had good equipment, like this one: http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/webcasts/nasaedge/

[popeter123]

well i got 1.5 hours till it so i have time to get stuff and set up

ps you lot have not seen how good these sun glasses are(i tryed then yesterday)

[Kryten]

If you can see through them, they\'re not dark enough.

[popeter123]

i see what you did there

[Kryten]

No, I\'m serious. The general advice is that if you can see a bright light bulb through whatever you\'re using, don\'t use it.

[dj51d]

Haven\'t had a chance to try stacking to increase sharpness yet, here is a raw shot from my 8' reflector.

[popeter123]

mady make one of thoes tisheu box thing from the simpsons?

[NovaSilisko]

If you insist on viewing it without proper protection, only look at it with one eye. That way you don\'t go completely blind...

[popeter123]

i mean one of these