Thousands witness Venus Transit at Manipur University
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 06 2012: The Department of Physics, Manipur University today provided the rare opportunity of witnessing transit of Venus transit over the surface of the sun to thousands of enthusiastic people from all walks of life.

The Venus Transit show was arranged at the terrace of the Library building of the university.

The once in a lifetime show was displayed using Meade LX-200 GPRS Telescope which is the only of its kind in the whole North East India.

People from different walks of life ranging from small children to elders came thronging the Library building to witness the event.

Students of Catholic School Canchipur, Standard Robarth Higher Secondary School, Little Flower School and students of different schools from Thoubal district also came in groups to witness the rare event which will repeat only after 105 years.

Speaking about the transit show, Professor Kangujam Jugindro of Department of Physics, MU told Hueiyen Lanpao that they were planning to begin the show from 5.30 am.

Enthusiastic sky gazers listening to explanation by one of the experts before witnessing transit of Venus at MU

However, bad weather and cloudy sky play spoilsports and they had to begin the show from around 6.45 am.

The sky was not crystal clear at the beginning of the show which in turn failed to give clear viewing of the transit.

But the sky became clearer at around 8.30 am giving the viewers a clear view of the transit.

Live image of the transit was also projected on to a screen to give an easier and closer view to the viewers.

Photographs and video recordings were also taken with the help of the telescope fitted with a DSLR camera.

Retired Head of Botany Dept of DM College of Science Ibomcha, Prof G Santibala of Department of Science, MU and Retired Prof Barma were some prominent persons who came to view the transit, he said.

However, many enthusiastic visitors were not amused by the elaborate arrangements, as their expectation was belied due to cloudy weather and low resolution projected image of the transit.

"We were expecting to witness a clear and high resolution image of the transit and some solar flares when we came here but we could not get what we want.

However, it is good the university and the Physics department organised such shows for the people at free of cost", said Bhumeswar, a visitor, who came to witness the rare transit along with friends and families.

On the high expectation of the visitors, Prof Jugindro said that even though the images were of low resolution and the sky was cloudy, the department has been able to capture some photos of the Venus transit and record video of the rare event, which are very clear as compared to the live viewing by visitors.

Lack of superior quality solar filter was also the main cause for such low resolution live images.

However, the department is all set to acquire a new and superior quality solar filter in the near future from other countries, he said.

Prior to the Venus transit, the department also organised a live show of the beauty of the amazing night sky.

Around 1000 visitors including students, elders and womenfolk from surrounding area witnessed the rings of Saturn planet, surface of the moon and the various constellations in the space.