Venus Transit: A Small Dot, Big Significance

It's a small, dark dot on the face of the sun, but it's an important one: Venus, as it makes its way across the Sun's face, an event that won't happen for another 105 years.

That's what brought hundreds to Foothill Observatory in Los Altos Hills and to NASA/Ames Exploration Center in Mountain View Tuesday afternoon. They came from San Carlos, San Jose and the Santa Cruz Mountains to either see something, or share something, or both.

Foothill Observatory had its big telescopes, operated by the Peninsula Astronomical Society, but a lot of the action was right out front, where at least eight amateur astronomers had brought their telescopes to share the experience with others. 

"I wanted to see it, and I figured it would help to let other people to see it, too," said Patrick Salsbury. Salsbury lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, right at Loma Prieta, and he hauled is 45 pounds of gear that add up to his 8-inch Newtonian reflector telescope.  

Families and individuals happily traipsed from telescope to telescope, checking out the different views afforded by different filters, different lenses and just different times of Venus' trek.

"When we were kids, we did the cardboard thing, we did the double mirror thing, we did all kinds of things," said Mary Constantino, a Santa Clara resident came with her friend Cynthia Bondoc, and spoke about their fascination with solar phenomenon.

Some of the parking lot astronomers are members of the Peninsula Astronomical Society, but others are unafiliated amateurs, just looking for community on a special day, and a desire to share.

Another, like Naoki Hada, a San Jose resident, was looking for a place to bring his family, and to share the set-up he'd made with his telescope.

Rick Rodgers, an officer in the Peninsula Astronomical Society, invited the public to come out to the Foothill Observatory for their weekly programs. Every clear Friday night, members of thevolunteer their knowledge and operate the telescopes so that members of the public can know more about the moon. Every clear Saturday morning, they do the same for the sun.