Transit of Venus - 6th June 2012

Start:	Jun 6, '12 10:00p
Location:	Singapore

The Transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, 6 June 2012

The Venus transits occur approximately four times in 243 years. Transits occur in pairs separated by about eight years and these pairs are separated by about 105 or 121 years depending on whether the transits occur in June or in December. The reason for these long intervals lies in the fact that the orbits of Venus and the Earth do not lie in the same plane and a transit can only occur if both planets and the Sun are situated exactly on one line. The last transit took place in 2004 and will occur again this June, exactly 8 years later, visible from Singapore during sunrise.

The next transit of Venus will be on the 10th to 11th of December 2117, so chances are you won't be alive to see the next one.

The transit of Venus is expected to start before sunrise on 6 June in Singapore. The greatest transit (the middle of the transit) occurs at 0933h Singapore Standard (Local) Time. The transit visible from Singapore ends at 1249h.

I saw the previous transit in 2004 with my telescope and its really amazing when you see this black disc crossing the face of the sun and realise that that small tiny disc is approximately the size of the earth. It really makes you stop to think just how tiny we are in comparison to things out there in the universe.


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Geocentric Phases Of The 2012 Transit Of Venus
Time is in Singapore Standard Time (SST), UTC +8

Ingress: Contact I @ 06:09:38 (41°)

Ingress: Contact II @ 06:27:34 (38°)

Greatest @ 09:29:36 (345°)

Egress: Contact III @ 12:31:39 (293°)

Egress: Contact IV @ 12:49:35 (290°)
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http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/9573/tov2012fig02.png

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There are events being organised by NUS with talks and opportunities for gazing but I won't be going. I will have my telescope and solar filter ready at my home to view it. If anyone wants to view it from my home, let me know early so that I can arrange the timing for you to view. The entire transit will last around 6.5 hours in the morning. (see timings above)

Clear Skies!

SPACE ADVENTURES (National Library Board) 2nd June 2012

Start:	Jun 2, '12 10:30a
Location:	Singapore, Jurong East Library

Dear Astronomy Friends,

Am helping to dessiminate an upcoming astronomy activity organized by the National Library Board, this coming Saturday, June 2, called SPACE ADVENTURES.

Venue: Jurong Library (Programme Zone, Field)
Date/Time: Saturday 2 June 2012

It will be an all-day event starting from 10:30AM, with activities ranging from astronomy talks, arts & music, games, and stargazing sessions, all open to the public. This would be a great time to bring the family and kids as well!

Some of us will be volunteering our telescope setups for the public to gaze at the planets, bright DSOs, and the Moon. There will also be a giant projection screen to show celestial activity in the evening.

A quick snapshot of some of the activities and schedule:

1) Around the Universe (from 10:30AM, lucky draw, games)
2) Capture Music from the Heart (1:30PM, talk)
3) Boardgames Mania (4PM, games)
4) Urban Astronomy (8:25PM, talk)
5) Night Stargaze (6:30PM onwards, public stargazing)

You may also get more information about this event from the GOLibrary June issue (http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/).

Feel free to bring your telescopes too and spread the joy of astronomy!

See you there!

Clear Skies!

Marina Bay Sands 11-13th May 2012

Walking On Air - Earth from Orbit

Fantastic!