Department of Health
NO SAFE WAY OF DIRECTLY VIEWING
THE TRANSIT OF VENUS
The Environmental Health Service of the Department of Health endorses the following statements provided by The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and the Optometrists Association of Australia (OAA).
Australia’s medical eye specialists warn that there is no safe way of directly looking at any eclipse of the sun, including the Transit of Venus.
In a joint statement, the President of the OAA, Mr Ian Bluntish and RANZCO spokesperson, Dr Steven McGovern say there is simply no safe way of looking directly at the sun during the Transit of Venus.
“People should not look directly at any eclipse of the sun or similar event such as the transit of Venus, with or without sunglasses, welder’s masks, photographic film, x-rays, smoked glass, compact discs, cameras, computer disks or any other device not specifically designed to observe the sun,” says Dr McGovern.
“We recommend that people do not improvise with sunglasses or welder’s masks,” says Mr
Bluntish.
As Venus passes across the sun, it obscures only 1/33rd of the sun’s surface, so unlike a solar eclipse the sun will be as bright as usual. Although the brightness tends to make looking at the sun uncomfortable, some people may be tempted to directly view the transit and would not be aware of eye damage occurring, as there are no pain receptors on the retina inside the eye. Also there may be no immediate indication that vision is being affected, as the permanent effect of viewing the sun directly may not be apparent until days or weeks later.
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S
A F E V I E W I N G
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The Environmental Health Service of the Department of Health
advises that there are, however, indirect
ways of observing the Transit of Venus on 8 June 2004.
The
event can be watched in complete safety by;
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Watching
the event on the live webcast at www.csiro.au/eclipse/
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Watching
the event on closed circuit television
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Projecting an image on to a piece of paper
through a small telescope or pair of binoculars – while
looking away from the sun (see diagram below)
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How to safely view
the Transit of Venus
Use
a telescope or binoculars to project the image of the Sun onto a flat surface. With
your back to the Sun, aim the telescope towards it, and focus its image onto a white
card or wall, about 20 centimetres behind the eyepiece. Venus will appear as a black
spot with a width of 1/33rd of the Sun's width, and should be easily seen. (Diagram
courtesy of Angelo Madrid/CSIRO Education)
Department of Health WARNING
A variety of solar viewing glasses are currently available. The Department of Health does not endorse the use of these solar viewers. People who elect to use
them do so at their own risk. There are no Australian Standards for solar viewers.
People who do elect to use them must ensure that the filters are both undamaged and
fully cover the eyes while viewing the transit. Remember that children are most
susceptible to eye damage from viewing the sun.
More background information . . .
June, 2004
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