mountain profile Institute for Astronomy University of Hawaii

Rare Transit of Venus Visible from Hawai‘i June 5

Maintained by LG
Transit of Venus 2008

The 2004 transit of Venus as taken by NASA's Sun-observing TRACE spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/LMSAL

On the afternoon and evening of June 5, people in Hawai‘i will have the rare opportunity to view the planet Venus cross the disk of the sun. This is the last time this will happen in our lifetimes: The next transit of Venus will occur in 2117.

IfA will set up telescopes equipped with special solar filters for public viewing on Waikīkī Beach, at the Pacific Aviation Museum*** on Ford Island, and at Ko Olina near Lagoon 4 from noon until dusk. We will also distribute free “solar viewers” that will allow individuals to look at the sun safely.

Weather permitting, there will also be a small viewing station on the lawn of Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive in Mānoa. Solar viewers are available at the IfA reception desk through June 4 weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There is a limit of two per person (at least 16 years old).

Never look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. Sunglasses do not provide enough protection. You can find more safety information here.

***If you attend the free Venus Transit at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, the museum will offer a special admission price of $8 per person.

Institute for Astronomy Frontiers of Astronomy Community Event: Talking Transit: The Sun-Venus-Earth Connection: A panel discussion about the upcoming transit of Venus. Dr. Paul Coleman will speak about Hawaii's historical role in research using the 1874 transit of Venus, Dr. Shadia Habbal will speak about the Sun and its connection to Venus and Earth, Dr. Peter Mouginis-Mark will talk about Venus itself, and Dr. Roy Gal will speak about the transit on June 5. Wednesday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. in the Art Building Auditorium (room 132), UH Mānoa. Free. Campus parking $6.

Bishop Museum will have a transit of Venus festival on that day with safe viewing opportunities.

On Hawai‘i Island, there will be telescope viewing at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. You will find information here. ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo is also planning some activities related to the transit, including having NASA webcast of the transit playing in their lobby and telescope viewing on their lawn (weather permitting) free of charge. Go to their website (imiloahawaii.org) for the full schedule and the latest updates.

Hawai‘i and Alaska are the only places in the United States where this event can be viewed in its entirety. In the contiguous 48 states, the sun will set before the transit is over. In Honolulu, the transit will begin at 12:10 p.m. and end at 6:45 p.m. Because Hawai‘i is one of the best places to view this happening, it is attracting many visitors to our state.

In Hawai‘i, this event has a special historical significance, for it echoes a transit of Venus that occurred during the reign of King David Kalākaua. On December 8, 1874, a British expedition made the first scientific astronomical observations in Hawai‘i by observing the transit from a site near the corner of Punchbowl and Queen Streets in Honolulu, as well as from locations in Waimea on Kaua‘i and Kailua-Kona on Hawai‘i. They observed the transit to gather data that would be used to determine the precise distance between Earth and the sun, and thereby, to measure the size of the solar system. More information about the 1874 transit expedition in Hawai‘i can be found here.

The website transitofvenus.org is a good place for general information about this event.

NASA has pictures of the previous transit of Venus (2004). NASA also has a page for the 2012 transit.

The Hubble Space Telescope will use the Moon as a mirror to see the Venus transit because Hubble cannot look directly at the Sun. Hubble will be studying Venus' atmosphere. More

See NASA Edge YouTube video about a webcast of the transit. The transit will be webcast live at http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/.

John Philip Sousa composed the "Transit of Venus March" in 1883. Lost for many years, it was rediscovered in 2003. Click here for the full story and to listen to it.

A workshop entitled "Transiting Planets in the House of the Sun: A Workshop on M Dwarf Stars and Their Planets" will be held at IfA Maui on June 3-6. Intended for advanced graduate students and junior postdocs studying extrasolar planets, it was intentionally scheduled to coincide with the the transit of Venus.

The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo will be offering an undergraduate observational astronomy course to coincide with the transit of Venus. More information is available on the web or by contacting hokukea@hawaii.edu.

While some websites may say that the transit will occur on June 6, be assured that in Hawai‘i it will occur on June 5. It depends on which side of the international dateline you are on.