Photograph of the Transit of Venus on 1882 Dec 06.
Taken by students at Vassar College (Sky & Telescope Feb. 1961) Venus transiting the sun will happen twice in the next eight years. Europe and Newfoundland will engage in watching this on June 8, 2004

This transit only happens a dozen times a millennium. The last one: December 6, 1882. On June 8, 2004, Venus will overlap the sun at sunrise in Newfoundland. We will, again, be one of the better places in the world to witness this rare occurrence!

Last summer Garry Dymond and Fred Smith of The Royal Astronomical Society spent part of August exploring the closest proximity of Mars to the planet Earth in 60,000 years. Now there is about to be another celestial event that no other human alive has witnessed.

The planet Venus, which is the brightest planet, can be seen plainly at sunset in the western winter sky and at sunrise in the eastern summer sky. At 105 years and then at 123 years, respectively, it transits the Sun and Earth (in direct alignment). Garry explains, “A Transit of Venus is the passing of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun and is a rare occurrence.” In the case of Venus, it happens only twice in a century and can not be seen all over the world. It has happened in Newfoundland before on June 6, 1761.

This transit was first noted by ancient astronomers, the Mayan Indians, of the Yucatan Peninsula, thousands of years ago. They were the first to discover the distance between the Earth and Sun, using the planet Venus. Their legacy is now, no more than a myth and yet the very same century that the Mayan People were invaded by the Spaniards, lead by Cortez, the Venus Transit regained credibility by European scientists. All of which happened in the 1600’s. The famous Johannes Kepler was the scientist, who gained credit for the Venus Transit, yet it wasn’t until over a century later, could his observations be explored.

“The (Venus Transit) event” of 1761, as Garry explains, “caused the first North American Scientific expedition to take place here in Newfoundland. Fred Smith, a member for the Royal Astronomical Society and Professor of Astronomy at MUN, wrote an article to the Journal earlier this year about the 1761 expedition that took place. He stated that “Professor John Winthrop of the Harvard College, (now Harvard University) and two assistants sailed to St. John’s, NL to observe and take part in this cooperative endeavour by the international scientific community.” The exact location of their expedition is thought to be “Kenmount Hill”, yet no one knows for sure on account of missing measurements of longitude in Winthrop’s observations.

Garry also stated that “it (the Venus Transit) was so important an expedition, that nations were allowed passage for observers through their lines (of fire) as it was during the Seven Years War.”

John Winthrop 1714/15-1779 In search of recognition on an international stage, he sent the results of his observations to England, to be compiled with those of others; and was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1766. His portrait was painted around 1773, the year when he was awarded the first honorary doctorate of laws ever granted by Harvard.

So, what can we expect to happen on June 8, 2004? The Venus Transit always happens in pairs and so, the first of the “pair” of Venus Transits will be overhead in Newfoundland this year. The second will be on June 6, 2012, which will be visible from the Pacific Ocean. Remember the song titled “King of Pain” by Sting? “….There’s a little black spot on the sun today……” he was probably singing about the Venus Transit for that is exactly what will happen.

Newfoundland will have a chance to see it again, yet this will be a first in a lifetime event for any human alive. Garry states, “The sunrise is at 5:05am NDT on June 8, 2004 and the Venus transit will have already started over Europe. Venus will be half way across the Sun by 5:52:56am NDT. The event ending at about 8:55:15am NDT.”

Garry Dymond runs public tours of the Planetarium (Marine Institute) for the Royal Astronomical Society. But an outside viewing location at Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada will be the post for this event.
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will host the event on the top of Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada. There will be Solar Filtered Telescopes there on hand, for the general public to use, with Garry’s supervision. “The same process will take place as if we were watching an eclipse. Careful instruments are the key for such an expedition.” Without proper eye wear a person can cause blindness if looking right at the sun. Parks Canada will be helping with crowd control as this event proves to bring people here from all over the world to witness such a sighting. Parking for the public will also be at the Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada Visitor Interpretation Centre.

The Johnson GEO CENTRE will host a video presentation for the general public, at 12 noon to 5pm on June 7th and 9am to 5pm on June 8th. Robert Grantham, Executive Director of the Johnson GEO CENTRE stated that The Johnson GEO CENTRE’s mandate is, “Our Earth and Our People. We are very interested in looking at things beyond our planet. We try and relate our (Newfoundland) position in the Universe.” The public can participate in this for a fee. Parking will be available at the Johnson GEO CENTRE.

As for the Ancient Astronomers of the Maya from Mexico, their descendants who today live in Guatemala and Mexico are all gearing up for what they consider to be one of the most important cycles of our time; They are calling it the “Oneness Celebration”.

Venus has been seen by all the different Ages of the World; from the Ancient Greeks to the Age of Christ to the Maya as well as the Egyptians. Studies show that some even think that the Ancient Phoenicians designed the first alphabet around the phases of the planet Venus. Yet we are the civilization that will witness the next Venus Transit. For a civilization that is more informed, we have the ancient stories left behind to study.

Ring of Flames Venus Pointer Calendar

The Venus Pointer Calendar along with the Aztec Calendar known as the Ring of Flames. The Mayans and Aztecs were noted as using these calendars for measuring the distance of the earth from the sun. Venus was the main tool in these calendars that would help the ancient culture come up with the equation. The Ring of Flames stone calendar was found in Mexico dating back to 100 A.D. It has been left in tact in a Museum in Mexico.

Samantha Gerbeau
Research and Communications
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
sgerbeau@nf.sypatico.ca