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Alaska may have missed out on the prime viewing of the annularsolar eclipse on May 20 -- though it definitely caught some of it -- but there's no better place to be than the Last Frontier to seethe June 5 transit of Venus, an astronomical event that only rollsaround twice every century or so. The transit of Venus is a 7-hour event in which Venus -- one ofonly two planets between the Earth and its heavenly light -- treksits way across the surface of the sun. The transits come in groupsof two, set eight years apart, but then don't occur for more thananother another century. The last one occurred in 2004, making the June 5 event the last oneuntil 2117. Before 2004, the last one was in 1882. So unless modern medicine makes some immense strides soon, thisyear's event will be the only chance many living Earthlings have tosee it. But here's the catch: Just like the recent solar eclipse, the bestviewing will be in limited geographic regions. The Los Angeles Times reports that the transit " will be visible in its entirety only from the western Pacific,eastern Asia, eastern Australia and at high northern latitudes." High northern latitudes, you say? Sounds like Alaska, no? Indeed, the 49th state will be among the prime viewing locations --so much so, that many astronomers and space enthusiasts areplanning to make the trip to Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largestcity, in order to facilitate viewing. That's according to Space.com , where it says a group of researchers from NASA's Solar DynamicsObservatory will make the trip in concert with a solar physicsmeeting in Anchorage. Also planning to come up for the transit is a group of researchersfrom the University of North Dakota Sun Earth Moon Systems team, who will feature a live webcast of the transit on theirsite. According to Tim Young, an associate professor of astrophysics atUND, the group will be setting up for a public viewing event at theparking garage on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus in between the Science and Social Sciences buildings. To help fundthe trip up to Alaska, they'll be selling glasses designed forviewing the transit for $2.50. Three weeks ago, they webcast thesolar eclipse from Redding, Calif. Only Alaska and Hawaii will see the entire transit in the U.S.,which is a change from the events of the 2004 eclipse, when thewestern U.S. missed the entire show, according to NASA . Parts of eastern Australia and Asia will also see the entiretransit. That's not the transit's only Alaska connection, either. Accordingto MSNBC , British explorer James Cook -- for whom Alaska's Cook Inlet isnamed, and who mapped a good portion of the Alaska coastline duringa quest to discover the fabled Northwest Passage -- assisted in ascientific expedition during the 1769 transit of Venus. The goal was to answer one of astronomy's most important questions-- the distance from Earth to the sun. By precisely timing thetransit's length from many different points around the globe, thereasoning went, scientists could calculate the Earth-sun distanceusing the principles of parallax. With this information in hand,the scale of the entire solar system would follow. Famed British explorer Capt. James Cook took part in the 1769expedition, sailing to Tahiti and watching the transit from a placenow known as Point Venus. Further exploring Captain Cook's link to the 1769 transit will be two lectures on Friday by Ron DiIulio, director of the Planetarium and Astronomy Program atthe University of North Texas. That talk, called "Captain Cook,Citizen Scientists and Venus Transits," will be held at 6:30 and8:00 p.m. Tim Young with NDU said that although radar has allowed for highlyaccurate measurement of the Earth's distance from the sun,scientists will attempt to replicate the techniques used inprevious transits for comparison purposes. "It is of interest to do the same calculation with very simpletechniques and equipment and see if it is possible to get a goodestimate from what they attempted in 1874 and 1882," Young said. If you don't have the cash to take a trip to Alaska and aren't inthe path of the transit, don't fret: NASA will also broadcast thewhole event on its NASA TV website . Fair warning: You won't be able to look directly at the sun to viewthe transit, but will need to filter it through some sort ofmedium. Tips for viewing solar eclipses apply. In Anchorage, the transit will begin at about 2 p.m. on June 5,ending around 9 p.m. Curious what times it will be visible in yourarea? Check out this handy site . Will the weather cooperate in your corner of the state? See theforecast for your region at the National Weather Service . Contact Ben Anderson at ben(at)alaskadispatch.com. I am an expert from outdoor-ledfloodlight.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Mr16 Light Fixture , China T8 LED Tube Light, Outdoor LED Flood Lights,and more.
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