Venus Transit at Sunrise
Credit & Copyright:
Jimmy Westlake
(Colorado
Mountain College)
Did you see the transit?
While some watched by webcast, sky gazers in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa, and Asia were
able
to witness the complete
6 hour journey of Venus' silhouetted disk across the face
of the Sun.
As seen
from North America, the much heralded
Venus Transit of 2004 was
nearing its final stages at sunrise yesterday in this
telescopic image.
The view looks across the Atlantic from Tybee Island near
Savannah, Georgia, USA.
In fact, many in eastern North America
experienced
a dramatic view of a perfect, dark, round Venus against a
reddened Sun filtered by banks of low clouds.
Ironically, the Sun takes on the appearance of
a cloud covered planet itself as
Venus marches
toward the right through this dreamlike scene.