FASST Program News

In the morning hours of June 8, an astronomical event occurred that no living person has ever seen. Venus—the Earth’s sister planet—moved directly between the Earth and the Sun. The public was invited to witness this rare event during a live webcast at Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory. The event was also covered by a local NBC news affilliate; see the news broadcast here.

Starting at 11pm June 7, the observatory will be open, and astronomers from Fisk and Vanderbilt University will be on hand to answer questions. During this time, the tiny black dot of the planet Venus will be visible as it moves across the disc of the sun for a period of about seven hours. Venus will temporarily dim the light of the Sun when it crosses in front of it.

Dyer Observatory is one of only twelve centers around the world chosen by NASA to host the live webcast from the National Observatory of Greece. In addition, Dyer Observatory staff will be recording its own images of the transit to be shared with viewers around the world via the NASA Venus Transit 2004 website.

The previous transit of Venus occurred on December 6, 1882—one of merely six events of its kind ever watched by mankind since the invention of the telescope. Because of its eight-year cycle, the next Venus transit will occur in June 2012—many of us will be lucky enough to witness this rare event twice in one lifetime. Following that, the next transit will not occur until 2117.

Dyer Observatory is one of Middle Tennessee’s most unique venues for public, private and corporate events. Each year, Dyer hosts thousands of visitors through school tours, observation nights, scout events and other community programs.

Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is located at 1000 Oman Drive, Brentwood. For more information about Dyer Observatory, please call 373-4897 or visit www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu.