On this page, photos related to
the so-called "Black Drop" phenomenon are displayed, as they were
recorded during the Venus transit on June 8, 2004 and shown at the
VT-2004 website. This effect is illustrated on the drawing to the left
and has been known by observers since long. It implies that Venus
appears to be "stuck" to the limb of the Sun near the moments of the
second and third contacts, as if with some kind of chewing-gum. It
makes it difficult to estimate the moment when the border of Venus'
dark circle exactly touches the border of the Sun.
In any case, as the photos on this page demonstrate, the "Black
Drop" phenomenon obviously did not play any significant role this
time. Many observers remarked that they did not suffer any particular
difficulties with the timing and many image sequences (see below)
testify to the general absence of such an effect. Look also at the special page in the VT-2004 Photo
Archive that deals with image processing techniques on photos obtained
near the moments of the contacts.
All photos on this page may be downloaded and used, provided the
photographers (authors) and the VT-2004 programme are indicated as
source.
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Individual Photos Displaying the
Varying Degrees of the "Black Drop" Effect
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Venus Transit - 2nd Contact
[640 x 480 pix
- 92
Andjelko Glivar
Celestron 102mm f/5 with 2x teleconverter
Canon EOS 300D digital SLR camera
[Black Drop?]
More images at this
site
June 8, 2004
Croatia
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Venus Transit - 2nd Contact
[2900 x 1946 pix
- 161k]
Paolo Campai
[Black Drop phenomenon visible]
June 8, 2004, 07:39:50 UT
Florence, Italy
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Venus Transit - Second Contact
[384 x 288 pix
- 47k]
Frederik Bove
10-inch Meade LX200
Mintron MTV-12v1
June 8, 2004
Belgium
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Venus Transit (Black Drop)
[604 x 564 pix
- 25k]
Statis Kalyvas
4.5-inch Mizar telescope
Nikon Coolpix 750
June 8, 2004
Thessaloniki, Greece
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Near 2nd Contact
[800 x 640 pix
- 38k]
VT-2004 Team
Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers
Observatory Rimavska Subota
160/2450mm refractor with AstroSolar filter
CCD camera SHT
June 8, 2004, 05:39:50 UT
Rimavska Subota, Slovakia
More images at this
site
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Venus Transit - Third Contact
[384 x 288 pix
- 50k]
Frederik Bove
10-inch Meade LX200
Mintron MTV-12v1
June 8, 2004
Belgium
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Venus at 3rd Contact (3)
[320 x 240 pix
- 42k]
Daniel del Valle
8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
Logitech QuickCam
["Black Drop" phenomenon]
June 8, 2004, 11:10 UT
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA
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Near Third Contact
[640 x 480 pix
- 16k]
Saverio Cammarata & Giuseppe Marino
Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi
Webcam Philips Toucam Pro and Schmidt-Cassegrain 25 cm telescope.
Median of 40 frames.
June 8, 2004
Catanese, Italy
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Third Contact
[800 x 640 pix
- 18k]
VT-2004 Team
Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers
Observatory Rimavska Subota
160/2450mm refractor with AstroSolar filter
CCD camera SHT
June 8, 2004, 11:03:40 UT
Rimavska Subota, Slovakia
More images at this
site
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Photo Sequences Near Second
Contact
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Venus Transit - The Beginning
[512 x 1024 pix
- 22k]
Robert Fosbury
ST/ECF - ESO HQ
3-inch refractor
Sony DSC-F717
June 8, 2004
Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany
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Venus Transit (Ingress)
[1300 x 975
pix - 110k]
Elio Daniele
Gruppo Astrofili O.R.S.A.
Apochrom. refractor Tele Vue NP101
550mm - f/5.4 with AstroSolar filter
Nicon D100 Camera
June 8, 2004
Palermo, Italy
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Venus Transit (Composite)
[900 x 823 pix
- 197k]
Domenico Licchelli
Osservatorio del Fiorini
Apo 75mm f/6.7 with 3 x Barlow
TouCam Pro
Exposure 1/250 and 1/1500 sec
[Very poor seeing]
May 20, 2004, 05:34:06 - 11:12:06 UT
Lecce, Italy
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Photo Sequences Near Third
Contact
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The Black Drop and Optical Resolution
[406 x 606 pix
- 77k]
Herbert Raab
Linzer Astronomische Gesellschaft
100-mm f/9 flourite refractor
Solar Max 60 H-alpha filter
Mintron 12V1C-EX B/W video camera
[Images from the video sequence obtained at nearly the same
moment, but with "bad" (left) and "good" (right) image sharpness
are compared. It is clear that the "black drop" phenomenon is
more pronounced in the "bad" images.]
More images at this
site
June 8, 2004, 11:03 UT
Linz, Austria
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Third Contact at High Resolution
[1500 x 554 pix
- 73k]
Ralf Vandebergh
6-inch refractor f/8
Sony TRV740 camcorder
[All images are composites of several frames]
June 8, 2004, 11:00 - 11:05 UT
The Netherlands
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Black Drop Development
[408 x 1006 pix
- 173k]
Eric Walker
Highlands Astronomical Society
114-mm reflector with 32-mm Plossl
Nikon Coolpix 5700
June 8, 2004, 11:03:04 - 11:07:11 UT
Culloden Moor near Inverness, Scotland, UK
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Venus Exit
[1200 x 960
- 106k]
Elio Daniele & Salvo Careri
Refractor Tele Vue NP101 550mm f5.4
Nikon D100, Astrosolar Filter
June 8, 2004
Palermo, Italy
Astronomy Club O.R.S.A.
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Black Drop Effect
[503 x 1300 pix
- 41k]
Mauro Auteri & Floriano Paglia
G.V. Schiaparelli Astronomical Observatory, Varese, Italy
SC 203mmm at f/10 + Webcam Toucam Pro.
June 8, 2004 ; 11:02-11:04 UT
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Venus Transit (Egress)
[1300 x 975
pix - 100k]
Elio Daniele
Gruppo Astrofili O.R.S.A.
Apochrom. refractor Tele Vue NP101
550mm - f/5.4 with AstroSolar filter
Nicon D100 Camera
June 8, 2004
Palermo, Italy
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Venus Transit (Composite)
[900 x 823 pix
- 197k]
Domenico Licchelli
Osservatorio del Fiorini
Apo 75mm f/6.7 with 3 x Barlow
TouCam Pro
Exposure 1/250 and 1/1500 sec
[Very poor seeing]
May 20, 2004, 05:34:06 - 11:12:06 UT
Lecce, Italy
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Venus Transit - Near Third Contact
[1424 x 493 pix
- 117k]
Jamie Cooper
June 8, 2004
Northampton, UK
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Venus Transit (Egress)
[320 x 240 pix
Animated GIF - 383k]
David Brown
LX200 Meade telescope f/6.3
TuoCam
June 8, 2004
Worth Matravers, England, UK
More images at this
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Venus Transit - Black Drop Phenomenon
[350 x 237 - 22k]
Astronomical Observatory Sliven
100/1000mm Cassegrain telescope
SFO80 filter
Praktika camera
June 8, 2004, 11:03:03 - 11:04:20 UT
Sliven, Bulgaria
[See images of the event here.]
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Venus Transit - Egress
[1280 x 1200 pix
- 175k]
Enrico Mariani
Meade ETX90EC f/13.8
Webcam Vesta
June 8, 2004
Tradata (VA), Italy
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