Up to OJB's Photos List   Return to Previous Page

Transit 2004

Finally the time had arrived for the main reason we made the trip to Australia - to observe the transit of Venus! Transits occur when a planet (Mercury or Venus) can be seen from Earth moving across the face of the Sun. They aren't very spectacular like a solar eclipse but they are very rare. Transits of Venus happen in pairs about every 100 years. Significantly Captain Cook (an important figure in the discovery of Australia and New Zealand) travelled to the South Pacific to observe one.

This photo shows two of the telescopes we used. A specilaised solar (hydrogen alpha) scope at top, and a general-purpose C90 at bottom.

I usually write a blog post about once a week. The latest post can be viewed here: Think for Yourself: In the end, everything is just an opinion. Be skeptical, and think for yourself! (posted 2026-04-25 at 21:12:02). Or go to the Home Page of My Blog to choose a post to view.

I do podcasts too! You can listen to my latest podcast, here: OJB's Podcast 2026-04-14 How Far is that Star?: How would we really know how big the universe is? Or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed, on my RSS Feeds page.

If you're not sure what to view from the thousands of pages on my site, here are some suggestions: My Latest Airshow Report (photos and movies from Warbirds Over Wanaka, 2026), My Favourite Wines and Beers (tasting notes for some of my favourites), An Interesting Astronomical Observation (learn a bit about astronomy from these observing notes), See Some Photos (A short rail journey through the Taieri Gorge), Read Some Mac Tips (Learn about how to use your Mac, and fix some problems).

Latest Site News and Notifications (Desktop): You are currently viewing OJB's web site, version 2.4 which has some major changes, and possibly errors! Please report any problems to ojb@mac.com.