Observing Notesfrom the Tuckahoe IrregularsI awoke at 3:30 AM this morning and prepared for the trek to Woodland Beach. For those who have not had the pleasure of visiting WB let me say that it is on the beautiful banks of the Delaware River about 7-8 miles east of Smyrna. Basically it is a parking lot and a condemmed fishing pier inhabited by swarms of marsh mosquitoes and green head flies(they come over from Jersey!). My truck was packed with the Ultima 8 sct, the Nikon 4" refractor, cameras, and filters. I made a pot of coffee and took off about 4 AM. And when I arrived at 4:15 there were people already set up! A rooster crowed just as I opened the truck door - dawn was coming and I questioned whether the rooster was a good omen or a bad one. I set up the Nikon scope with an F-2 Nikon camera and 100 speed VS slide film. The Ultima was set up for viewing...and we waited for the sun to appear. As we waited several more folks arrived. All told we had around 30 people - I had 30 each "I saw the Venus Transit, June 8, 2004" buttons and gave them all away - so there must have been at least 30. The sun rose above the River through approx 5-10 degrees of clouds so thick I couldn't see it through the filter so I did the unthinkable and removed the filter to look directly at the sun - thru the finder first and then thru the Ultima. God, what a view! The sun was deep red and Venus was jet black, round, and much larger than I expected. I allowed a couple of brave souls to get a fast peek before replacing the filter because Venus was rising through the clouds rapidly. This was by far the most memorable view. Coffee, doughnuts, good people, good equipment, Great Weather, no marsh mosquitoes, and a TRANSIT OF VENUS! As Frankie said, "That's life!". We watched the entire event - only for a few minutes were we bothered by a small hazy cloud. As the event neared the end Norman Todd convinced me to switch the camera to the Ultima so we could view thru the Nikon refractor. Everyone had several sessions at the eyepiece right thru 3rd & 4th contact. None of us saw a black drop effect. I am sure none of us will ever forget the image as Venus crossed the edge of the Sun. That was a graphic display of Cosmic Geometry. Now what is the next astronomical event for us? Don... |