The Transit of Venus in front of the Sun: a must-see at the Université de Montréal

The Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ), the Université de Montréal, McGill University, the Montreal planetarium, Espace pour la Vie, the Société d’Astronomie du Planétarium de Montréal, the Fédération des Astronomes Amateurs du Québec (FAAQ) and Rio Tinto Alcan are inviting the public to look up and observe a rare phenomenon: the transit of Venus in front of the Sun. The next transit will happen in 2117, in 105 years.

The event will happen on Tuesday, June 5th, from 5pm to sunset, on the terrace on top of the Louis-Colin parking garage at the Université de Montréal, near the Roger-Gaudry pavilion, at 5255, avenue Louis-Colin Click here for the directions to the event.

This extremely rare astronomical event happens when Venus passes exactly between the Earth and the Sun. This is sort of an annular solar eclipse, but at a different scale. The phenomenon was described and predicted for the first time in the 17th century by the Dutch astronomer Johannes Kepler. Since then, only 6 transits have been observed, the last one in June 2004. If the weather allows for it, we will be able to view the 7th transit of Venus; an event not to miss since the next one will happen in 105 years, in 2117!

Astronomers from McGill University and Université de Montréal will be present during the event to explain the details of the transit and also to enjoy this unique experience with the public. They will share telescopes and binoculars, specially equipped with filters designed for observations of the Sun. If it is cloudy, the public will be invited to follow the phenomenon live from Hawaii, in auditorium Z110, in the Roger-Gaudry building of the Université de Montréal.

Because such an event will not go unnoticed, the public will be invited to also follow on Twitter the various steps of the transit thanks to an astronomer from the Montreal Planetarium. He will lead a discussion and answer questions from the public (#venustransit). @CRAQ_Officiel and @AstroMcGill will also be present on Twitter.

Renseignement :
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