Video: The Transit of Venus

Chuck




Transit of Venus Stained Glass Window CollageThe Transit of Venus is a 4-minute video in high-resolution soon to be a free download in full-dome video for digital theaters. The mini-show summarizes the history and significance of the transit of Venus while preparing viewers for the June 5-6, 2012, spectacle.  The story segues from Jeremiah Horrocks' first sighting, to expeditions seeking to measure the size of the solar system, to the Kepler spacecraft detecting planets as they transit distant stars.

With animation and video effects by Patrick McPike, Multimedia Artist and Technical Director at the Adler Planetarium, the dome master is readily compatible with digital systems.  The original song Morning Star by the band Transit of Venus from New Zealand is also available for free download.  Narrated by Douglas Osthimer.  Written and directed by Chuck Bueter.
  • Dome master
  • High-resolution flat screen video
  • YouTube video with narration
  • YouTube video without narration
  • Song: Morning Star by Transit of Venus
  • Text for The Transit of Venus video

Venus and earth align with sun Nitzschke's illustration of a transit at sunset James Ferguson illustration of earth Observer at telescope during 19th century expedition 2004 transit of Venus near internal contact Venus appears as a dot on the sun Kepler field of view near Cygnus Graph of exoplanet light curve shows dip in brightness NASA Kepler spacecraft illustration Extra-solar system depiction

http://www.youtube.com/user/transitvenus
Additional videos that are directly related to the transit of Venus

Planetariums and Digital Theaters

The dome master can be sliced and encoded for individual projector types and will soon be available at no cost to manufacturers who choose to offer this service freely to their users. See the March 2012 issue of Planetarian, Journal of the International Planetarium Society for more information.