Venus Comin' Through!

Journal 5

The black dot in the upper region of this orb is the silhouette of Venus against the sun. It is difficult to see but it's the best I could get. If you tilt your screen backwards you can get a better idea. Ansel Adams, eat your heart out! I am sure others will upload much, much better photos soon.

This morning I got up and went to see the Venus transit. Given that I am not at home, access to decent equipment was out of the question. So I improvised by using a tourist telescope that was designed for looking out onto the Umbrian hills and two Corn Flakes boxes. In spite of the poor quality of my "equipment", it worked. I am happy with the result.

Here are some images of the telescope on flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80099362@N02/?uploaded=2&magic_cookie=f116ae515fae81744c4c2a744c7d4ad8