On June 5, 2012 we packed up our equipment and drove up to Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, TN where we joined the Cumberland Astronomical Society for their public outreach of the Venus Transit. While there, we captured all the data for this image. At the same time, we were sharing the views on our computer screen with the folks that streamed in and out to view this fantastic event. This image shows intervals of Venus in transit starting at 5:05pm CST and ending at 7:13pm CST. The portion of the transit that we could see from our location started at 5:04pm CST and ended at 7:34pm CST when the Sun set behind a treeline. It was a real treat to be a part of this "once in our lifetime" event since it will not happen again for 105 years.
In addition to seeing Venus transiting the Sun in this image, you can also see sunspots AR1493, AR1494, AR1496, AR1497 & AR1499, as well as some nice filaments, flares, and prominences. AR1497 is the two sunpots to the upper-left with AR1494 below it. Directly to the right of AR1497 is AR1493 and the group of smaller sunspots just below that is AR1496. AR1499 is the region with the snake-like filament just below AR1496.
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 3.9 - 4.8ms
Gain: 370 - 397
Length: 1:00 @ 30fps (each frame)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5b; Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: June 5, 2012, 5:05 - 7:13pm
Capture conditions: transparency: Above avg 4/5; seeing: Poor 2/5
Location: Gallatin, TN, USA