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| Photo taken by Vena-Yvonne Photography |
The Transit of Venus and Stargazing at Henderson Beach State Park
What’s more peaceful than looking up at a star-filled night sky? Looking up at a star-filled night sky on the beach of course. Imagine your toes in the silky smooth quartz sand, which shimmers bright white in the moonlight, the celestial beauty twinkles down at you as you breathe the salty air and listen to gulf waves gently breaking onto the shore. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? Maybe you’d like to get a better look at those sparkling diamonds in the sky. Maybe you’d like to spend an afternoon enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience, seen by few men. If this sounds like an evening well spent to you, then you just may want to check out a couple of the upcoming events at Henderson Beach State Park.
This coming Friday, May 25, the Department of Environmental Protection and Henderson Beach State Park will host a star gazing event from 7-9 p.m. Volunteers from the Northwest Florida Astronomy Association will set up several telescopes for public viewing of star clusters, planets, and galaxies. Volunteers will also be available to answer questions about the night sky. All ages are encouraged to attend. Please remember the park closes at sunset, therefore anyone planning to attend the star gaze should arrive to the park prior to its sunset closing.
On Tuesday, June 5, head out to Henderson Beach State Park once again to witness a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon with the pros. The transit of Venus will begin at approximately 5 p.m. and will be seen as a small dot gliding across the face of the sun. This rare and amazing event will not occur again until 2117. Volunteers from the Northwest Florida Astronomy Association will once again be onsite and will set up several telescopes for public viewing of the transit. After sunset, the telescopes will focus on the night sky, for public enjoyment of the stars and constellations.
About the Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and earth. This rare alignment comes in pairs that are 8 years apart but separated by over a century. These transits follow a strange pattern of frequency. A transit will not have happened for about 121.5 years, then there will be one transit followed by another transit of Venus eight years later. Then there will be a span of about 105.5 years before then next pair of transits occur, again separated by eight years. Then the pattern repeats (121.5, 8, 105.5, 8).
If Venus and earth orbit the sun in the same plane as the sun, transits would happen frequently. However, the orbit of Venus is inclined to the orbit of earth, so when Venus passes between the sun and the earth every 1.6 years or so, Venus is usually a little bit above or below the sun making it invisible in the sun’s glare.
A similar phenomenon happens with our moon. Every month, the moon passes between the sun and the earth, yet we do not see a solar eclipse every month. The reason for this? The moon’s orbit is also slightly inclined to earth’s orbit, so the new moon usually is just slightly above or below the sun.
How Transits Help Us Determine Our Place in the Cosmos and How You Can Help
In 1716 astronomer Edmond Halley calculated that you can quantify the distance from the sun to the earth by having observers across the globe time the passage of Venus across the sun. Knowing he would not live to see the next transit, Halley predicted global sites that would be suitable for viewing a transit and called upon future generations to pursue his plan. For the 1761 transit and every transit opportunity since then, explorers have sailed to distant lands to time the transit.
You can easily be a part of this effort during the upcoming transit, using the latest technologies like the free Transit of Venus phone app. This easy-to-use app will allow individuals to send their transit observations to a global experiment to measure the size of the solar system. Join this unique effort by downloading the app here:
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