Sunriver Observatory Offers Once-in-Lifetime Sight
All eyes will be in the sky Tuesday afternoon — carefully — to watch a rare solar event that won’t be repeated in your lifetime
The planet Venus will track between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that will be visible from Central Oregon.
Preparations for a watch party were under way Monday at the recently renamed Oregon Observatory at Sunriver in anticipation for the big event.
“We won’t see this (again) in our lifetime,” said Bob Grossfeld, the observatory manager, “The next time this will happen will be 2117, and it won’t even be good for the West Coast.”
Astromers say Venus will appear as a small black dot as it passes between us and the sun, and will be visible across the upper third of the sun.
The last time any planet passed between the earth and the sun was in 2008.
“It happens in pairs, and then it’s about a hundred some-odd years for the next one,” said Grossfeld.
Venus will begin to pass by the sun from our perspective just after 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and by sunset, the whole thing should be over with.
The observatory at Sunriver Nature Center plans to have 12 to 15 telescopes set up for anyone wishing to catch a peek and maybe see more.
But as with the recent partial solar eclipse, the safety message is the same: Don’t look directly at the sun. You need a special filter to protect your eyes.
“We have specialized telescopes that people can look through both natural light filters and hydrogen alpha filters,” said Grossfeld, “We will see storms on the edge of the sun and sunspots.”
The one thing that could cause problems for High Desert sun watchers: Will the clouds clear by later afternoon?
“If you can see shadows on the ground, you can see the transit of Venus,” said Grossfeld, “That’s the rule for the day.”
The observatory’s free event Tuesday begins at 3 p.m. and goes until 7 p.m. The facility will be selling special solar glasses to benefit their expansion project.
Find out more here at the Website for the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver.
