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Special Events
Annual Open House and Picnic! - May 26, 2012 You and your family are cordially invited to attend the 15th Annual E.C. Carr Astronomical Observatory (CAO)
Open House and RASC Toronto Centre
Awards Picnic on Saturday, May 26, 2012. With ample shelter available in our house and observatory on Blue Mountain, this is a rain or shine event so plan to be a part of it. Read on for all the details planned for this year's special event! More details... Article Updated: May 13, 2012, 22:33
On June 5th the planet Venus will transit across the disc of the Sun. This is a very rare event: although it was observed just eight years ago, Venus will not be silhouetted against the Sun again until December 11, 2117.
The event will begin with Venus contacting the solar disc at about 6:05 PM. It will continue until after sunset, but once the Sun is no longer visible the only way to monitor the transit is with video feeds from more westerly locations, over Internet or television.
The appearance of the Transit is similar to an eclipse of the Sun, but much smaller. During an eclipse, the Moon can completely cover up the Sun. Venus's apparent size is about 1/30th the width of the Sun's disc, so while its contrast is visible without magnification, there will only be a barely measurable 0.1% dimming of sunlight.
Do not look directly at the Sun with unprotected eyes at any time! Additionally, please do not try to improvise solar protection at the last minute using sunglasses, exposed photographic film, etc. Here are two links about safe Sun observing.
The U of T Dunlap Institute for Astrophysics has distributed over 40,000 Safe Venus Transit Viewers across Canada with the help of the RASC, and many of these viewers are available for free at our events leading up to Transit Day. Additionally, free transit viewers are bundled with the June issue of SkyNews Magazine, a Canadian news-stand publication. You can also find safe methods for observing the transit at local astronomy suppliers, such as EfstonScience, Kendrick Astro Instruments, and Khan Scope Centre.
There are several different planned public observing sites around the GTA...
