CRAQThe Transit of Venus in front of the Sun: Clouds did not spoil the show!
More than 750 people on the campus of the Université de Montréal
Astrophysicists from the Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ), the Université de Montréal, McGill University, the Montreal planetarium, and the amateur astronomers from the Société d’Astronomie du Planétarium de Montréal and from the Fédération des Astronomes Amateurs du Québec (FAAQ) welcomed more than 750 people at the Université de Montréal to see Venus and the Sun in a rare spectacle.
On Tuesday, June 5th, from 5pm to sunset, the rare event was held outside on the Université de Montréal campus and continued inside with a public lecture by Robert Lamontagne, executive director of the Observatoire Mont-Mégantic, on the secrets of the Solar System.
Despite the bad weather and the clouds presents for most of the duration of this rare event, the 750 people attending enjoyed the 7th passage of Venus in front of the Sun since the 17th century. The next transit of Venus will happen in 105 years, in 2117. The astronomers from McGill University and Université de Montréal present during the event explained to the public the details of the transit and also enjoyed this unique experience with the public. They also shared telescopes and binoculars, specially equipped with filter designed for observations of the Sun.
Some photos of the transit and of the crowd attending can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151804720545494.862963.14096350493&type=1
The CRAQ thanks all the attendees and the volunteers involved in the organization of this event.
Photo: Mosaic of the transit of Venus
Credits: Etienne Artigau (CRAQ/UdeM)
Olivier Hernandez, Ph.D.
Relation avec les médias
CRAQ – Université de Montréal
Tél. : 514-343-611,1 poste 4681
olivier@astro.umontreal.ca | @OMM_Officiel | @CRAQ_Officiel