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[Paulie pchris00]

For months now, I've pretty much had my mind set, but I struggled for awhile about how to observe the ingress during the Venus transit. Should I make this a public observation, or should I concentrate on my own observing and imaging? Historically, the contact points were the focus of the observing, trying to get exact timings. The areola effect of sunlight refracting through the Venusian atmosphere, and the black drop effect just after contact are going to be the most interesting things for us astronomers to observe during the transit. We only have about 18 minutes between first and second contacts, and that time will fly by. Sharing it with the public will further usurp those few moments from us.

I've decided that I'm not making my telescopes publicly available until after second contact. I think that is fair. I have been waiting nearly eight years to observe Venus in front of the Sun with a telescope, and have outfitted myself accordingly. It's up to each astronomer how to share their equipment, but I don't think it's wrong for any of us to try to get the best observations and most enjoyment out of the brief moments of ingress. I've even typed a sign- not yet printed- to post near my telescopes. It reads:

We will be quite happy to
show you the Transit of
Venus
AFTER
the moment of second
contact, when Venus is fully
upon the solar disk.
Until then, we are trying to
obtain scientific data, in the
tradition of Halley, DeLisle,
and many other astronomers of the past.
Thank you for coming to view
this rare event with us, and
your patience is much
appreciated.

Am I wrong? Am I being unreasonably selfish? I think I do enough to spread enthusiasm for astronomy that I'm entitled to a few minutes during ingress for myself and close friends. Assuming clear skies throughout, there will be about three hours to show and enjoy the Venusian dot on the solar disk, and I will share it with a smile and an elevated heartbeat. I figure since I'm in control of my telescopes, the show doesn't begin until I say it does. For those of you working a public ToV event, if you have the option to keep the rare event of ingress to yourself, I suggest you do. And don't feel guilty about it.

[Centaur]

Well, Paulie, if you utilize the projection method, then you and your guests will all see what's happening simultaneously.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Alright, some of us have discussed this among ourselves and let's look at this...

Considering this is a very rare event, who will be at the eyepiece when first and second contact is made....?

Me, at least at my scope.

I intend to video the first two contacts, then publically display the rest of the event to the general public. Not sure if I will webcam it or Canon Powershot the video, but I do intend to capture it for posterity and science.

The argument can be said about why set-up in a public locale, if not going to share?

Well, at least here - the C11 has three scopes attached to the OTA, and I can filter all of them to provide real time views of the event whilst I video. I can also have another telescope at the ready for a Chicago Astronomer/Support Crew member to work. I also have the benefit of Adler scope and crew working the event to help siphon off the crowds until after 2nd contact.

When I observed the Venus Transit of 2004, I found that projection was best and was the preferred method of sharing the view. The Astronomer can point out the varios factoids about what's going to many. Rich's Funnel projection project is good for this.

I'm with Paulie here, as the contact events should be relished by Astronomers.

A few practice solar session will arranged for the Chicago Astronomer crew soon - to shake out the bugs and get the timing down. ...perhaps even this weekend. Let's

[Paulie pchris00]

Agreed. This is our moment. I know quite a few of us who can are going to do public observations, and will be quite thrilled and honored to do so. These first few minutes are our special treat though, and should be appreciated to the fullest extent. In the time it would take to explain to just a handful of visitors the significance of what they should look for, ingress will be over. Are we going to be doing any real science with the contact observations? Probably not, but for me, it's a chance to connect with the astronomers of the past, who have paved the way for people like us to do what we love. It should be a moment for those who have studied the history of transits. We'll still have three hours of Venus in front of the Sun to show and educate with.