Stargazers In Thailand Witness Rare Spectacle Of Venus Passing In Front Of Sun

[webfact]

Stargazers nationwide witness rare spectacle of Venus passing in front of sun

BANGKOK, June 6 -- Stargazers across Thailand witnessed a rare planetary spectacle -- Venus passing in front of the sun -- that could be seen here between 5.49-11.49am today.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has warned viewers not to look at the sun without eye protection as serious eye damage is likely to result.

The transit of Venus across the sun from the eastern horizon to the western horizon will be visible in Thailand for approximately six hours. It was considered once in a life time event as this sight won't come again for more than 105 years, Dec 11, 2117.

This spectacle on Wednesday was visible between 5.49-11.49am.

However, cloud cover in the capital was an obstacle for viewers as most of the Bangkok sky was covered by vast cloud. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-06

[inquisitive]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

[Jayman]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

I was just thinking that very thing as I'm reading this......

Come to think of it... they might have intentionally waited on the info to avoid having a bunch of Thais staring at the sun causing much damage to their eyes.....

Edited June 6, 2012 by Jayman

[xanax]

shame no media covered this earlier .....

[MEL1]

"However, cloud cover in the capital was an obstacle for viewers as most of the Bangkok sky was covered by vast cloud."

So they call that chemical and exhaust crap 'cloud' nowadays?

-mel.

[Guest]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

Depends of the news sources. This has been on the medias past 2 weeks, maybe not on Thai news.

Unfortunately the clouds were blocking the view at least in Phuket.. well, maybe next time

[me313]

I recently subscribed to Live Science, and got news of the transit in my email last week. http://www.livescience.com/

[webfact]

Pictures: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2155140/Transit-Venus-2012-Spectacular-seen-time-2117.html

[NomadJoe]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

I was just thinking that very thing as I'm reading this......

Come to think of it... they might have intentionally waited on the info to avoid having a bunch of Thais staring at the sun causing much damage to their eyes.....

Venusian blind.

[Skywalker69]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

I didn´t miss it, don´t you guys read any other news than from the Nation.

[Berek]

It's been all over the intarweb for the past week... How could you not hear about it?

[DP25]

Stargazers across Thailand witnessed a rare planetary spectacle -- Venus passing in front of the sun -- that could be seen here between 5.49-11.49am today.

Posted at 11:36am. Thanks for the heads up Thaivisa!

[chiangmaicharlies]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

Where were you looking - I'd seen many references to it on the net and in the press

[chiangmaicharlies]

shame no media covered this earlier .....

Of course there was plenty of media coverage - your comment is just untrue!

[khaowong1]

Well heck, I missed this one, guess I'll wait for the next one.

[chiangmaicharlies]

I got up at sunrise and viewed the transit via a projected image from binoculars onto a white sheet for nearly an hour whilst tracking the transit on the computer. Here is the computer simulation of what I was viewing.

[samsiam]

I saw it at about 11am or theres abouts.....I hooked up this jim dandy contraption and took a photo...bit fuzzy...but you can see it on the pic....could also see it visually.

I tied sunnies to the outside of my welding goggles.....and there ya have it.

Walked into the door later but....

[webfact]

Princess watches Venus spectacle

The Nation

NAKHON PHATHOM: -- HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was among the many Thais observing yesterday's transit of Venus, a rare phenomenon that will not occur again until 2117.

From the sunrise until 11.49am, astronomers and enthusiasts from various corners of the country watched the celestial phenomenon through telescopes and devices provided by several agencies, including the Thai Astronomical Society (TAS) and the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit).

TAS provided telescopes at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Pathom, where the Princess was among the skywatchers.

The transit of Venus takes place when the planet passes directly between the sun and Earth. Against the sun, it appears to be a little black dot.

In Bangkok, skywatchers gathered at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science.

In Chiang Mai, Narit provided more than 20 telescopes at the Rajapruek Royal Park. The crowd had to wait until 7am before the clouds cleared.

"This is the phenomenon of the century," Narit director Boonraksa Sunthornthum said. "The next transit of Venus will take place on December 11, 2117."

He believed that half the world's population was excited about the phenomenon.

"Because of the Venus transit, astronomers can calculate the distance between the sun and the Earth," he said. "So, the transit of Venus is really a very important phenomenon."

In Phitsanulok, skygazers showed up at Naresuan University's Faculty of Science, where eight telescopes were available.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, enthusiasts queued up at the Suranaree University of Technology to watch the sky.

Lecturers were on hand to provide information about the transit of Venus.

Apart from telescopes, viewers could also use special glasses to see the rare show.

In Yala, people could watch the phenomenon at a science education centre.

The last transit of Venus took place on June 8, 2004.

-- The Nation 2012-06-07

[easybullet3]

Wouldn't it have been nice if they told us about this BEFORE it happened? I learned about it about 90 minutes too late for this lifetime. Thanks, Nation. PS> I did, however, get your advertisements in time, so I guess the important stuff was covered. Good work.

I was just thinking that very thing as I'm reading this......

Come to think of it... they might have intentionally waited on the info to avoid having a bunch of Thais staring at the sun causing much damage to their eyes.....

i COMPLETELY AGREE!

why does the Thai Media always cover the event AFTER it has already happened?

i definitely remember that the English media make a big thing of such events and print it BEFORE it happens so that everybody can have a chance to see this event.

it goes to show that Thai visa (or whoever) need to start 'thinking' about the readers and give them information about such events BEFORE they happen.

- it would be a nice gesture of positive reporting.

printing it AFTER the event only just makes the readers (and me) upset that we weren't told about it BEFORE.

i would have Loved to have seen this.

[webfact]

I suggest to follow the "Thailand Live" topic. The information was posted a day before the event occurred: http://www.thaivisa....2/#entry5362023

Thai TV reported earlier as well