The Venus Transit 

On June 5, 2012 Horizons Observatory and local Pomfret resident Peter Brooke teamed to host an astronomical event that won’t occur again until the year 2117. Visually, Venus appeared as a small black dot against the surface of the Sun.

Since the transit began near sunset an unobstructed view of the western horizon was required – something the Horizons Observatory does not have!  However, Peter Brooke graciously invited us to his hillside where, as you can see in the pictures below, has a clear view of the western horizon as-well-as an enchanting southern valley view.

Horizons Observatory and docents Rob Hanson, Scott Griswold, and Scott Holson set up a solar telescope, solar binoculars, and a solar viewer along with an ample supply of solar glasses.

Roughly thirty adults and children made the trek up to Peter’s hillside. Most were transported in cars, but some walked and others biked. The weather, which was overcast and rainy up to 30 minutes prior to the transit, cleared for our event and stayed that way for about two hours.

Thank you Peter for allowing us to use the hillside and thanks to those who came out to view this most beautiful and unusual event.