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Spectators weren’t staring at the sun for fun. They were watching the planet Venus pass across it, which happens twice every one hundred years or so.
Tuesday’s transit marked the second and last time it will happen in the 21st century, with the first being on June 8, 2004. The transit was visible just after 6 until about 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
The historical speck on the sun won’t be seen in earth’s sky again until 2117.
“I don’t think I’ll be alive then. That’s a long time,” said 5-year-old Kaylee Blocker, as she ate dinner with her mother, Stacey, and 9-year-old brother, Tyler.
Besides setting up various sun-seeing tools and telescopes, the museum staff was handing out solar glasses and played the “Crossing the Sun” movie, which explains the history of the rare occurrence, on repeat. They also live-streamed NASA’s transit footage for free. About 500 people attended the event.
“The clouds were gathering quickly, but everyone wants to be an eye witness,” said Kalamazoo Valley Museum Director Bill McElhone. “We are very excited about people coming out and realizing the significance of this event. Hundreds of years ago they figured out the size of the solar system based on the transit by using math to calculate the size of the sun in relation to Venus. Today is about what it gave to early astronomers.”
Gerardo Zamora, a recent Western Michigan University graduate, said it’s amazing that the transit helped early astronomers learn things about the universe and that it was happening again for him to see.“That’s Venus, all right,” said an excited R.J. Lawson, 10, when he saw the speck on NASA’s live feed. “There’s way more to discover. We could see another universe or galaxy, multiverse, aliens or another species. Who knows? The moon is our only satellite.”
Comstock High School special education teacher Jim MacKenzie said the Transit has a special meaning to him because it’s the second time he witnessed the transit and the second time the event landed on a birthday. He said the transit happened on his daughter’s birthday in 2004 and this year, he celebrated the celestial event on his 59th birthday.
“I think there might be a reason things happen the way they do. I think the universe has an order and occasionally events like this happen to remind us of things that are continuous, despite the way we scurry around on this crowded planet,” Mackenzie said. “I think the universe is trying to tell all of us to take a breath, and look around.”