Planetarium did good for Transit of Venus

On June 5, the Elgin National Watch Company/Elgin U-46 Planetarium did indeed host a free public viewing of the Transit of Venus. Local Elginites including volunteers from the Fox Valley Skywatchers and OneDarkSky volunteered to set up their telescopes equipped with solar filters or a sun projection system for the viewing public.

Absolutely no special viewing glasses were required. This was a free event in which anybody interested could walk up to the telescopes and look through them to witness this last in our lifetime spectacle. The telescope owners were happily answering questions and managing their equipment for the good of the community and observational astronomy.

I am not sure why Diane Keys in her June 16 letter to the editor thought that she had to buy the glasses when the telescopes were already equipped with safe viewing filters. Nobody was looking through a telescope with the safe viewing glasses. I know the volunteers at the event, myself included, would have gladly helped her had she asked or even hinted for help. That is what we were there for.

There were safe viewing glasses for sale for $3. The best viewing of this event was through a telescope outfitted with filters to allow for safe viewing.

Without magnification, the sun is same size as the moon from here on Earth. The black dot of Venus was tiny, tiny speck through the glasses. This is sometimes disappointing to people, so the telescopes were the highlight of the event, not the optional $3 safe viewing glasses.

There were hugs, smiles and handshakes as hundreds of community members ran into old friends and met new ones. It was a beautiful June evening for citizens of all ages to witness an amazing astronomical event on the grounds of the historic Elgin National Watch Company Observatory.

Peggy Hernandez

Planetarium Teacher

Elgin National Watch Company Observatory/U-46 Planetarium

Dundee Township