State set to watch Venus transit
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 03 2012:
Physics Department of DM College of Science will organise an interaction programme cum astronomy quiz on the countdown to the transit of Venus at 11 am on June 5 at the Physics seminar hall of the college.
It may be mentioned that the Venus transit will be visible in Manipur from sun rise to 10.20 am on June 6 .
The planet will pass directly between the Sun and the Earth during this time which will be visible as a small black disk moving across the Sun.
This rare phenomena goes in pairs and happens every 243 years.
Each pair is separated by eight years.
The last transit took place on June 8, 2004 with the next schedule falls on June 6, 2012 .
The previous pairs of transits happened in December 1874 and December 1882 .
After 2012, the next pair will come in December 2117 and December 2125 .
The safest way to watch a transit is to observe an image of the Sun projected onto a screen through a telescope, binoculars, pinhole or reflected pinhole.
The event can be viewed without magnification using filters specifically designed for this purpose, such as an astronomical solar filter or eclipse viewing glasses coated with a vacuum-deposited layer of chromium.
However, the disk of Venus is tiny compared to the Sun and not much will be seen.
The once-recommended method of using exposed black-and-white film as a filter is not now considered safe, as small imperfections or gaps in the film may permit harmful UV rays to pass through.
Observing the Sun directly without appropriate protection can damage or destroy retinal cells, causing temporary or permanent blindness.