On Tuesday, June 5, physics and astronomy students from Ballard High School will be setting up telescopes for a public viewing party to observe the rare transit of Venus across the sun, starting at 3 p.m. Teacher Eric Muhs says the transit can be observed as long as the sun is visible or partially visible.
“We’ll be in the ‘Science Garden,’ a fenced area adjacent to the parking lot on the north side of Ballard High School,” writes Muhs. He says the transit, which is when a planet crosses the disc of the sun, will not happen again in any of our lifetimes. “The very infrequent transits of Venus were of enormous historical importance for measuring the size of the Earth and mapping, as they provided a kind of clock observable around the world,” Muhs says.
“Telescopes and other solar viewers will be on hand to view the transit, which will start at about 3 p.m. and last until sunset,” says Muhs.
Our news partners, The Seattle Times, has this article on how to safely watch the transit without damaging your eyes.
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