Small dot, big draw

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Crowd gathers on Van Allen roof for glimpse of Venus traversing sun

By:

Bill Adams | 2012.06.07 | 10:32 AM

Venus as a small dot in front of the Sun peeking through the clouds

The sun briefly peeks through an overcast sky to reveal a spectacular view of Venus (that tiny dot) seen from the roof of Van Allen Hall. This astronomical event won't happen again until 2117. Photos by Bill Adams.

University of Iowa professors and students took to the roof of Van Allen Hall Tuesday evening, June 5, to set up five telescopes built exclusively for observing the sun for a public viewing of Venus's transit across the sun. An overcast sky prevented all but a few brief glimpses of the rare astronomical event.

A young girl squints looking into the sky.

Shadow of a pair of hands holding binoculars projecting an image of the sun onto a white piece of paper.

A man addresses a crowd, gesturing with his hands in the air.

A line of blue sky peeks through cloud cover.

A man pointing a pair of binoculars into the back of a welding helmet.

A young boy covers his right eye while looking into a telescope with his left.

A man points at a projector showing the Venus transit over the sun.

A man and his son sit on the floor looking up.

Telescope view of the sun with a tiny dot, Venus, in the upper left quadrant.

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Bill Adams, University Communication and Marketing, 319-384-0052

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main on community page, sidebar on home page double checking with Bill on the name Mac Tinkham (boy covering eye, looking through telescope) just to be sure -- cwc

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Venus as a small dot in front of the Sun peeking through the clouds

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Venus as a small dot in front of the Sun peeking through the clouds

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Small dot, big draw

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Crowd gathers on Van Allen roof for glimpse of Venus traversing sun

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