Venus before the Sun - the Rarest Eclipse of the Century!
The Tranist of Venus on 08. June 2004 in Dreieich, Germany
Experience Report
After the Mars year 2003 with the record approximation of Mars on 27. August 2003 the year 2004 could be named the year of Venus. After Mars moved away from Earth and became more inconspicuous in the evening sky in the first half year 2004, Venus moved towards Earth and showed up in the same sky region as Mars in its greatest brilliance in April and May 2004. In the evening of 20. May a narrow lunar crescent came along additionally. For a short time this constellation could be seen in Dreieich. Soon the still close to the sun standing moon disappeared behind a cloud bank in the northwest.
Venus eclipse on 21. May 2004
In the morning of the following daily the moon should cover Venus. But on this 21. May 2004 a cold front moved over Dreieich from the north. But this not in a way one might think, with a broad rain front or thunderstorm showers, but with a ca. 1000m high lying fog clouds (the Feldberg mountain in the Taunus was wrapped), which moved in from north-northeast, exactly the same as the wind at the ground. Above these clouds, which often left gaps for the view to the sun, there were further loose clouds, which moved over from southwest. Around 12:45 to before 13 o'clock (around 13:10 CEST the Venus eclipse should begin) briefly a clear range about 20 to 30 degrees east the sun showed up, exactly there, where the eclipsifying lunar crescent should stand. It was however so hazy that the scattered light of the sun was in such a manner glaring that an observation of the sky was hardly possible because of the strong glare. With sun glasses the scattered light was bearable. I did nevertheless not succeed to discover the lunar crescent in the day sky also not through the binoculars. Then clouds consolidated, starting from approximately 13:15 CEST even the sun remained disappeared behind clouds and did not show up again until the end of the occultation of Venus around 14:30 CEST.
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Cloud situation before the Venus eclipse in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain on 21. May 2004 around 12:44 CEST |
After passages of the cold front the weather was better on 22. May: Clear blue sky with thick heap clouds. Within minutes I found moon and Venus late in the morning in the day sky with binoculars, then both also with the naked eye.
However the peak of the Venus observations was approaching: The rarest of all sun eclipses, the eclipsification of our home star by our internal neighbour planet Venus should occur on 08. June 2004 and be from observable in full length from Central Europe.
Venus crescent on 05. June 2004
On 05. June 2004, 2 1/2 days before the event, I could briefly discover the ultra-thin Venus crescent with due to the diffraction of light in the Venus atmosphere spreading horns after sunset around 21:30 CEST with the 8x30 binoculars and observe it for about 5 to 10 minutes. Suddenly it stood in its extraterrestial beauty in an unexpected size 2 to 3 degrees above the horizon. A strange crescent over the terrestrial horizon! Unfortunately only so briefly and with difficulty visible that it was not enough for a photo or a video image. In the telescope (Celestron C5, f=1250mm, D=125mm) it showed up with 250x enlargement very blurred, more beautifully in the wide angle eyepiece (30mm) or in the 8x30-binoculars.
At further good weather my observation attempt of Venus however was not successful on 06. June 2004, 1 1/2 day before the transit of Venus despite medium clear horizon view (a little bit haze and very little remains of cirres).
Preparations for the transit of Venus
On 07. June 2004 it appeared more and more, on the one hand by the current sky sight, on the other hand on basis the weather forecasts and the current satellite photographs, that the weather for an observation of the transit of Venus in Dreieich would be outstandingly good. In the north and northeast of Germany from northwest moving cloud banks should however still represent a small risk, like the danger of possible heavy cloudiness arising against noon. In the evening of 06. June I already counted on to be able to observe at home (in case of bad weather an evading similarly to the lunar eclipse on 04. May 2004 would have stood on the program).
In the morning of 07. June I prepared now for an observation in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, more exactly said for the setup of a Venus transit camp in the meadows north of my garden (within the middle range of property north the bang pea hedge). I selected a place in the meadow, at which during the approx. 6-hours of transit a constant view of the sun should be possible. I mowed a circular surface with a diameter of approximately 5 meters free. In the afternoon the definite decision for the observation site Dreieich. I brought my observation instruments already into the nearby house of my parents, in order to have it there on the next morning in fast access. Still quickly an e-mail to my friends and acquaintance in the Rhine Main area, and (probably already to late) a reference to the local press. I painted signs, selected wood posts for their attachment and rammed these already into the soil. Using a large dark plastic tarpaulin, which my mother found for me, and some bamboo staffs I built a tent, so that the projected picture of the Venus before the sun should to be able to find place there tomorrow.
The night of 07. on 08. June was short. Around 4 o'clock in the morning the view from the bedroom windows shows some cloud banks, which stand in the northeast before the dawn sky. An early breakfast and the last preparations. Around 05:20 the sun rose, the cloud banks remained, but did not reach the height of approx. 20 degrees, where two hours later the entry of Venus before the sun’s disk should take place.
Between 5:30 and 6 o’clock I drive with the car from the south to the north of Dreieichenhain and visit the house of my parents. With the barrow I transport from there the eclipse equipment to the field. The observation place lies about 100 meters north of the house located at the outskirts of town. Now the circular mowed Venus field is being equipped. Before the already yesterday setup Venus tent I setup my three telescopes, a Celestron C5 (f=1250mm, D=125mm), a Revue refractor (f=910mm, D=60mm) and a SkyWatcher refractor (f=700mm, D=70mm). I place the C5 before the tent, so that the picture can be projected by it inside there.
The mowed field, representing the sun, and an old cord strained between two sticks represent the way of the Venus before the sun. A small flower bucket is available at the east edge of my sun to be able to mark the position of the Venus. Around 06:10 CEST my video camera is operational and I begin with the first photographs, which show the setup of the Venus camp. One hour later the construction is complete, all instruments operational.
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Venus camp in the field in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain on 08. June 2004 |
It becomes exciting. More relaxed than before a sun totality I expect the observations. There is more time available. 07:16 CEST until 07:19 CEST. My view through the C5 with approx. 80x magnification (30mm-eyepiece and 2x tele converter, through the viewfinder of the camera) moves over the solar limb. At this magnification I must constantly readjust the image window accordingly. There it is! On the top right a tiny depression shows up at 07:20 CEST, Venus is coming!
Observation of the Transit of Venus successful in Dreieich!
Through the viewfinder of the Canon EOS500N-camera, which is mounted behind the 30mm-eyepiece with 2x tele converter at the Celestron C5, and through the SkyWatcher refractor with 5mm-eyepiece I see Venus moving in front of the sun. Venus is already clearly recognizable as depression. I dare it and in the meantime move with the C5 (and the camera) still more near, change the eyepiece to 12,5mm.
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Ingress of Venus before the sun on 08. June 2004 at 07:29:18 CEST, taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N and Celestron C5 telescope (D=125mm, f=1250mm) with 12,5mm eyepiece and 2x tele converter, with Baader foil (D=3.8), approx. 1/3 second exposed (with the so called hat method) on Fuji200 negative film. By a brightening in the southern intersection of Venus and sun the Venus looks plastic. This is probably a reflex caused by the optics, which becomes visible by the long exposure time. Additionally the complete Venus looks somewhat brighter as the sky background. For this eventually a breath Venus atmosphere could be a possible second cause in the northeast area. |
Ingress of Venus before the sun on 08. June 2004 at 07:29:47 CEST, taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N and Celestron C5 telescope (D=125mm, f=1250mm) with 12,5mm eyepiece and 2x tele converter with Baader foil (D=3.8), approx. 1/30 second exposed (with so called hat method) on Fuji200 negative film. This shorter exposed picture does not show any signs of atmosphere bow or other phenomena. |
The video camera Sony DCR-VX700E with 2x tele converter, aligned to the sun, is recording. After approx. 20 minutes it becomes really exciting. Now Venus is located in the sun with approximately 1 1/2 radii. The roundness closes outward again and seems to unite outside the sun. Is it really like that? It seems, as if a tiny narrow bow runs along the missing roundness. Do I see the light of the sun that is refracted by the Venus atmosphere from the behind? Venus continues to move into the sun. I take pictures through the C5.
When did the sun assimilate Venus completely? It is visible: it is probably inside it, or is it not yet completely in it? There is the drop! The edges smear roundishly, but only very very little. It already seems to smear itself in such a way that a very flat elliptical dark range stands between solar limb and the limb of Venus. Hardly to recognize. But, now it it loosening, exactly at 07:39:48 CEST, and stands from now on fully inside sun. Now there is definitively light of the sun disk between sun and Venus. The black ball stands out against the just as black edge of the sun and begins its independent run through the 30 times larger solar disk.
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07:20:43 |
07:22:52 |
07:33:01 |
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07:35:41 |
07:37:56 |
07:38:46 |
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07:39:48 |
07:39:58 |
07:40:08 |
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07:40:46 |
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Ingress of Venus before the sun All times in CEST. Pictures taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N and Celestron C5 telescope (D=125mm, f=1250mm) with 30mm eyepiece and 2x tele converter with Baader foil (D=3.8), 1/500, 1/350 and 1/250 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film. |
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Around 07:30 the first visitors come. My friend Renate brings along beverages and takes pictures of the Venus Camp and its users. But first, who came must work today and need to leave the camp soon. My parents, neighbours and walkers come, the latter with and without dogs. All are my guests on the Venus field and try the view through eclipse eyeglasses, telescope and binoculars. The sun rises higher, it becomes warmer and my photographic activities have so far progressed that I release the C5 for the projection: Sun and Venus at large size, projected on a 80x100 cardboard inside the tent, a gigantic sight!
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Observation of the Transit of Venus |
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Transit of Venus - Venus before the sun! on 08. June 2004 at 08:33 CEST, taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N and Celestron C5 telescope (D=125mm, f=1250mm) with 30mm eyepiece with Baader foil (D=3.8), 1/350 second expose on Fuji200 negative film. |
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Eclipse equipment in action: Projection of the Venus Transit into the tent |
Now and then am I alone, but again and again people pass by and take interested views to the sun and to Venus. I tell them about the sun, the Earth and the Venus, the historical observations and the scientific aspects of the transit. Around 10:20 I must suspend my service for approximately 10 minutes, in order to focus my concentration and activities to photographs of the maximum around 10:22:30 CEST.
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10:22:30 CEST: Maximum of the Venus Transit - Venus stands nearest to the center of the sun. Taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N and 2x tele converter behind a Revue refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm) with Baader foil (D=3.8), 1/500 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film. |
It becomes warmer and warmer. Heat arises. One sits now preferentially in the small shady range, which the small pear tree in the south of the mowed sun disk offers. I examine the shadows of the leaves, resp. the holes between them. During a partial solar eclipse these holes form to solar crescents. But today I look in vain for the Venus in the roundnesses of the sun, which these holes carry in itself.
Now my guests come also with cameras. A boy from the neighbourhood has a digital camera with him. He succeeds with good photographs of the Venus transit, taken directly behind the eyepieces of my telescopes. This optic is so small that it resembles the human pupil more than the lens of my video camera. By video I succeed in taking the Venus only with a small range of sun around it. The rest of the picture remains shaded.
12:45 CEST is past. The clock approaches the "13". I cannot repair the projection, a late visitor can still view through the Sky Watcher. I am now already in action, in order to capture the egress. I still doubt: Again like the ingress through the C5 (possibly I cannot trust the exposure meter despite spot measurement and have underexposed the pictures), or focally through the Revue refractor with 2x tele converter. I decide due to the arisen light gusts of wind for the latter. But with over 60 degrees of solar altitude I must take the pictures in lying, since the camera must stand so deeply below the telescope.
13:03 CEST- The egress begins. I record with the video camera through the C5 and photograph through the Revue refractor. The sun is at culmination and moves away nearly only laterally to the west. That causes substantial problems for me during the readjustment and focusing, which must be adapted because of the nearly picture-filling sun photographs within approximately 20 seconds always again. The lateral movement requires a transfer of the tripod, which is extremely difficult on the uneven ground with the pricky grass stubbles, particularly since this is to be accomplished due to the deep camera position in lying. Valuable minutes pass, without being able to take a picture.
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The drop phenomenon These two pictures were taken in the distance of approximately one minute during the egress of the Venus from the sun’s disk with a Canon EOS500N and Canon 2x tele converter behind a Revue refractor (f=910mm, D=60mm) with Baader foil (D=3.8) at 1820mm. In the upper picture taken first, clearly the drop phenomenon can be recognized. In contrast to the lower image the egress position was not exactly focused (center of the negative not in the optical axis, additionally negative level probably not perpendicularly to the optical axis). The lower picture is very much sharper in the egress area. Here the Venus distinguishes itself more clearly from the solar limb. A drop phenomenon is not recognizable. This observation roughly suggests that the drop phenomenon is caused by optical lack, at least however is amplified by it. Since between the recording times lie some minutes, in addition the position shift of Venus could have affected the effect. |
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Egress of Venus out of the Sun All times are indicated in CEST. The pictures were taken in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain with a Canon EOS500N SLR camera and 2x tele converter behind a Revue refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm) with Baader foil (D=3.8), 1/500, 1/1000 and 1/1000 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film. These photographs are well focused. A drop phenomenon is hardly recognizable. The different colors are caused by the different exposure times. With short exposure of 1/1000 second a colouring of the sun disk results from the filter foil. |
13:09 |
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13:12 |
13:19 |
Through the C5 I see rudimentary blurring towards a drop phenomenon. I cannot recognize an arc because of the activities at the photo camera. The best phase for it passes during the camera positionings. On the finally sharp image in the viewfinder I cannot see the atmosphere of Venus. The Venus is now half off the sun. Do I see there nevertheless two eighth bows outstanding from the sun? No, I regard it as a deception, can not confirm such a phenomenon. Through the viewfinder I pursue the fourth contact and can not recognize Venus anymore around 13:20 CEST. The sun is complete again.
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View to the sun Venus left the sun. The telescopes are still aligned. |
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Venus camp after end of the transit The transit of Venus is over. The bucket represents the Venus, the mowed surface the sun, the cord between the sticks the course of the Venus in front of the sun. |
At 13:30 everything was over. I took a break and began after a while to bring everything to the garden of my parents. I spent the further afternoon to dedust the things thoroughly. Massive pollen had sedimented. Occasionally whole polling clouds had come over here from the west wind directly from the large meadow lain west to the observation place.
100% of the time absolutely clear.
Today's observations were despite the problems with the photographs at the egress a full success. Not once approached a cloud at sun and Venus: 100% visibility between 1. and 4. Contact for the Venus transit on 08. June 2004 in Dreieich!
Result
Result of my observations: droplet phenomenon and evtl. arc of atmosphere I saw rudimentary, but at the perception limit. During the transit Venus stood circular nearly plastic before the sun. Whether the edge of the Venus was less sharp than that of Mercury during the Mercury transit on 07. May 2003, I cannot say. Occasionally the surface of the Venus looked a little bit granular, similarly to that of the sun, however black instead of white, probable an indication of air unrest in the terrestrial atmosphere or a deception. In the shadow throw of the leaves of the trees Venus was not recognizable. Venus before the sun through the solar eclipse eyeglasses could be seen unmistakably clear (I could not see Mercury on 07. May 2003 with the solar eclipse eyeglasses).
Data
I determined the following times of contacts subjectively:
1. Contact: 07:20:31 CEST (Venus for the first time seen before the sun)
2. Contact: 07:39:48 CEST (Venus recognized to be completely before the sun)
3. Contact: 13:03:42 CEST (Venus recognized as no longer completely before the sun)
4. Contact: 13:23:05 CEST (Venus last seen before the sun, no more seen around 13:23:21 CEST)
Geographical coordinates of the observation place (determined on the basis of topographic map 1:25000):
50° 00' 39'' North
08° 42' 50'' East
175 meters above seal level
Stephan Heinsius, Dreieich, 06. to 09. June 2004, determination of the geographical coordinates and evaluation of the video images for determination of the recognized times of contact on 10. June 2004, addition of pictures from 11. June to 13. July 2004.
Design and contents: Stephan Heinsius, D-63303 Dreieich, ©SH 2004 - all rights reserved