We begin May with an annular solar eclipse (20 May) that will be visible across much of the Arctic, the North Pacific, western Canada and parts of the western United States. Some of our astronomer friends will travel to Arizona to observe it from Monument Valley. We can think of few more beautiful places to watch an eclipse.
June brings another unusual, little-known phenomenon: the transit of Venus. With Earth, Venus and the Sun aligned, we can watch Venus slowly cross the solar disc. In the past, this helped calculate the distance between Earth and the Sun. For this event, we have organised trips to Tromso, Norway, Sapporo (Japan) and Cairns (Australia).
The event takes place early on 14 November, Australian time. The sun rises over the Great Barrier Reef, almost hidden by the moon in an unusual sunrise. Cairns will again be our observation point for the total solar eclipse expedition. Will you miss it?
Total Eclipse expedition in Cairns
Our thanks to Josep Masalles, one of the country’s leading eclipse experts, for sharing his images. Find out more about his activities at www.eclipsis.cat