Venus Date

My girls took me on a 'date' to watch the Transit of Venus, an event that will not occur again until December 2117.  What is the Transit of Venus?  When Venus passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun.  Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system.  The view is like a front row seat to the transit method, by which we now find planets around distant stars.

Above is one of the many methods of viewing we used at a local college.  Venus is the little black dot at "8:00".

 There were about 6-7 different 'scopes' or contraptions for viewing so we made sure we used all of them.  Each one gave a different perspective . . . some showed a red sun, others orange but the BEST was the smallest scope . . .

 This one showed not only Venus passing over the sun but you could see the prominence (this very smart, young girl explained that those are the 'flames' shooting out from the sun and how/why that occurs and much more -- what a sweet girl she was!).

 An event we won't soon forget and we sure won't ever experience it again!

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3