hi everyone,
Good set up of telescopes in Sandymount from before 6am and Wally Mee had his hydrogen-alpha solar telescope which gave nice views. Cloudy at the beginning but then cleared sufficiently to let us see a lot of the event with just intermittent blank spells. A number of people stopped by throughout the morning -- I believe a few of the others moved on to Bray to get clearer conditions for the end of the transit.
Venus was also very easy naked-eye object with a number 14 grade welder's glass.
very nice in the Coronado binomites as well. Last view showed Venus as a notch on the limb of the Sun just after third contact.
other reports received;
Wexford:- Dermot Rafter and the Slaneyside Astronomers saw first and second contact with the famed "black drop" effect seen also. Images secured of the event which Dermot will send up.
Sicily, Italy:- spoke with Al White and he said it was cloudy yesterday but lovely clear spells for the transit -- halo seen around Venus (sunlight filtering through its atmosphere).
Madrid, Spain:- rang Paul Tipper (South Dublin A.S.) there and he has had lovely views at the observatory of a work colleague to the north of the city. Some thunderclouds building up so they might miss third contact. Black Drop lasted about three minutes . . . lots of digital images taken which he will have on his return to Ireland.
Rome, Italy:- Dan Lynch and Thomas Kinsella of South Dublin A.S. saw first and second contact at the Vatican but then signed off their text message with a cryptic "we've just been kicked out of the Vatican"!
Derek Buckley is watching it from the South of France but have not heard yet how he got on.
I think the naked-eye view really impressed me most because I was not really sure how visible it would be to us "eyeball only" observers. The black dot of the planet's silhouette was plainly seen by everyone with the welder's glass.
talk ltr,
John Flannery
  