Photography

In 2012 the second part of a rare astronomical event called the transit of Venus occurred, the first part having taken place in 2004. The next occurrences of this event will be in 2117 and 2125. Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable celestial phenomena and involve the planet Venus travelling directly between the Earth and the Sun, resulting in a black speck moving across the surface of the sun. During this event two sequential polaroid exposures were made, using a standard focal length lens equivalent to the natural viewing perspective of the human eye. The technical limitations of the equipment resulted in landscape, rather than astronomical photographs; the chemical reaction of the polaroid film to the direct sunlight leaves a black disc in the sky where the sun would be. The actual transit of Venus is therefore not visible at all and remains merely an idea.