Join the Grant Park Conservancy and our friends at the Grant Park Recreation Center in Grant Park to watch the transit of Venus! The planet Venus will cross the sun on June 5 and will be visible from Grant Park between 6:00pm and 7:30pm.
When Venus passes direclty between the earth and sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun. Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system.
A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and earth. This alignment is rare, coming in pairs that are eight years apart but separated by over a century. The last transit of Venus was a thrilling sight in 2004. After June 2012, the next event occurs in 2117. So basically, this is your last chance this lifetime to catch this occurance!
Meet us near the ball fields by the Grant Park Recreation Center. We will have solar viewing glasses and fun NASA handouts provided by our friends at the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project (www.charliebates.org) and information on how to spot Venus as it moves across the sun. Get there early to find a spot and secure a pair of viewing glasses and instructions. Please RSVP to info@gpconservancy.org if you would like to join us for this fun, free family activity.
Visit www.transitofvenus.org for more information about the tranist itself and www.sunaeon.com/venustransit/ for a cool animation of the tranist.