This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
I couldn't sit back and NOT see something that only comes through every 105 years. So I got off of my duff, drove down to Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma Science Museum to see the Transit of Venus
It was nice crowd. At first there were only 40 people or so, but by 5pm (my local time) folks came out of the woodwork. So it was great day and turn out for a science outreach event in a parking lot on a very hot Oklahoma afternoon.
Special thanks to the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club. They set up the telescopes with solar filters and offered on the spot science outreach to everyone.
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Volunteers Citizen Scientists like these make public events like this possible and no doubt inspire new scientists.
Someone set up a projection on the telescope. How neat is this?!
The News crews were out. Unbeknownst to me, I was on the news. Transit of Venus, June 5, 2012 by NewsOK.
And a little music for the occasion
Venus by Bananarama
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