Young & old turn up for Venus trail

Enthusiasts across the city try to get a glimpse of Venus’ transit Photo: M. Karunakaran   | Photo Credit: M_Karunakaran

Armed with solar viewers, crowds gathered well before sunlight to witness rare phenomenon

At the B. M. Birla Planetarium in Guindy, telescopes fitted with solar filters, sun spotters and projectors were stationed at their positions as early as 5 a.m. on Wednesday to receive the celestial guest. Astronomy enthusiasts, teachers and students waited with bated breath to get a glimpse of Venus when the sun rose.

Initially, clouds played spoilsport but within a few minutes, at 6. 15 a.m., the sun came out bright and shining bringing the celestial guest along. Not bothering to focus their telescopes, enthusiasts ran with No.14 welder’s glasses to get a better view of the small black dot on the Sun’s northern limb.

Originally written for The Hindu, read more at https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/young-old-turn-up-for-venus-trail/article3498207.ece