One of the rarest predictable occasions in astronomy – the passage of the planet Venus across the face of the sun – will take place on June 5. To celebrate this event, which changed the way people comprehend the solar system, Bellevue College will host a “Venus Transit Viewing and Star Party.”
The party will feature several viewing stations with telescopes to witness the transit, and each person who attends will receive a pair of special “solar safe” glasses so they can gaze at the sun safely. This once-in-a-lifetime occurrence won’t happen again until the year 2117.
The transit takes place when Venus passes between Earth and the sun, observable as a small black disk moving across the sun’s face. Transits occur in pairs eight years apart. This year’s transit completes the pair that began in 2004.
Previous pairs – in the 19th, 18th and 17th centuries – helped scientists accurately calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun and compute the size of the solar system.
The party, sponsored by the college’s Astronomy Department, Science and Math Institute and the Earth and Space Science Club, is part of the Seattle Science Festival. It will take place from 2:30 p.m. to midnight on the top deck of the parking garage on the college’s campus, located at 3000 Landerholm Circle SE in Bellevue.
The transit can only be seen when the sun is out; after sunset, the focus of the event will shift to star gazing. If clouds obscure the view, the event will move to the Geer Planetarium, also on campus, for a special presentation. The event’s website will have the latest information on conditions.
