Venus Transit on June 6, 2012

Venus transit  in 2004 (photo from the Internet)

Don't miss one of the rarest of planetary alignments in this century- the Venus Transit on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. This happens every 243 years with pairs of transits eight years apart. Only eight events have occurred since the invention of the telescope: 1631-1639, 1761-1769, 1874-1882 and 2004-June 26, 2012.

Wikipedia says that a Venus Transit takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During transit, it will be seen as a small black dot (left photo) moving across the face of the sun.  The transit in 2004 lasted six hours.

Well, we are quite lucky because this rare event is entirely visible in the Asia-Pacific region  (refer to chart below). According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical And Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), there are four named 'contacts' during a transit - this is, when the circumference of Venus touches the circumference of the sun at a single point. The contact points are (Manila time) at 6:09 am when Venus is outside the disk of the Sun;  6:27 am when Venus is entirely inside the disk of the Sun moving inward; 9:29a m when Venus is entirely inside the disk of the Sun, moving outward; 12:31pm when Venus is entirely outside the disk of the Sun, moving outward; and at 12:49 pm, the greatest transit, when Venus is at the middle of its path across the solar disk and marks the halfway point in the timing of the transit.

the entire transit is visible in Asia-Pacific (file from the Internet)

Venus is the dot (photo from internet)

There are several astrological interpretations of this astronomical event. Debra Campbell says "This alignment will force us to look within ourselves, and into each other’s hearts. The key really is about love, healing and most importantly, forgiveness of ourselves and others."  Cathy Lynn Pagano  notes that since "Venus is moving through the sign of Gemini, the Mind, we are being called upon to create a New Mind (Gemini Solar Eclipse), with new categories of belief (Sagittarius) and perception (Gemini), including a renewed knowledge of dreams, of unseen realities, and of out-of-the-box potentials of the human mind and heart."

Who knows what this alignment may bring? I sugest to write whatever you want to happen in 2012 onwards right now and reflect. It's like a wish list but be very clear what it is that you want.

countdown of Venus transit on slooh.com

To those who will be out there to watch the transit, PAGASA warns that "observing the Sun directly without filters can cause a temporary or permanent loss of visual function, as it can damage or destroy retinal cells." So please do NOT wear your sunglasses! Protect yourself by using special solar eclipse glasses or a welder's glasses (#14 or darker), peer through a pinhole projector or telescope, or better yet, watch early during the ingress at 6 am until 7-ish,  then from 9am onwards, watch the live webcast of slooh online.

Here comes the rain again

As early as 3pm last Friday, I've been battered by warnings of super typhoon codename "Megi" entering the Philippines area of responsibility. After experiencing Ondoy last year, I must admit that I joined the bandwagon and forwarded the warning to my office e-group, posted on FB (right) and texted my loved ones to prepare. 


Well, it's Monday and the weekend was bright and sunny. Alas, I heeded the warning and cancelled diving in Anilao thinking that the waves will be choppy. 

PAGASA short for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has forever been criticized for errors in storm predictions. In fact, this prompted PNoy last Augsut to dismiss then-PAGASA administrator Dr. Prisco Nilo, for failure to warn residents of Typhoon Basyang (international codename "Conson") on July 14. The typhoon claimed 8 lives, left more than 3,000 stranded at ports nationwide and found Luzon with no electricity .

I know that its better to be safe than sorry but I must say that PAGASA over did it. At 3pm last Friday, I received this warning: "Megi is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility around midnight or early Saturday morning.  International weather models indicate that it will continue to gain strength as it remains over water and may possibly reach "super typhoon" strength within 24 to 48 hours. PAGASA advised the general public and local disaster risk reduction managers to prepare and take precautionary measures."

Sad to say that Gai was right for commenting on my FB post that ""if PAGASA predicted it, chances of wreaking that kind of havoc... are next to nil." Even Kane tweeted yesterday "Told you tweeps. Pag OA ang PAG-ASA sa warnings at forecast, hindi darating ang ulan, bagyo, at baha."

For weather warnings and advisories, I will now be referring to more reliable weather sites like the Japan Metropolitan Agency. The storm's path is detailed day-by-day including it's intensity, center position, direction, wind speed and gustiness. As of 6pm tonight, the site says that the storm's intensity is indeed 'very strong' and is heading west southwest at 25 kph towards South China Sea and will be outside the Philippines by tomorrow.

As I type the wind is now howling scarily and the rain pounding. "Megi" dubbed locally as super typhoon Juan has weakened and slowed down and is now in Manila. It has unfortunately left Isabela, a province north of Manila, under a state of calamity. Yesterday, it was declared storm signal number "four" in the area, the ultimate public storm signal warning issued by PAGASA. I do hope that the provinces were well prepared for super typhoon Juan because of the early warnings.  I, on the other hand, must be cautious in heeding warnings lest I want to cancel another weekend or make my 81-year old mom worry unnecessarily.