Rowan gets a rare glimpse of Venus silhouette on sun

Gloucester County Times
June 09, 2004

Area astronomy enthusiasts huddled around three telescopes on the roof of the Science Hall at Rowan University Tuesday morning to catch a rare glimpse of a silhouetted Venus passing in front of the sun.

Though more or less just a "black dot," or silhouette visible to those carefully watching through telescopes, the event known as the Transit of Venus occurred for the first time in 122 years.

"It's very historical," said Dr. Steve Simmerman of Pitman, a local eye doctor and astronomy enthusiast. "It happens so infrequently that the last time it occurred people wondered what science would be like in 122 years when it happened again."