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Unfortunately I was unable to attend your transit day but I am glad that you had some success between the clouds!! I was however in England last week and although I couldn't take my telescope with me, I did remember to take a pair of 12x50 binoculars and a small sheet of solar filter film!!So last thing on Monday night I stuck the film to one side of the binoculars and set the alarm clock for 0600!!Slept in but did get up for 0730... Looked out the window... perfect morning. I was staying in a B&B in Bath and was able to view the transit from the front door!! When I went out I was really surprised that I was able to get such a good view... since I have never bothered to look at the sun before and had just assembled the filter the previous night. After approx 30mins viewing and letting everyone else who were staying in the hotel have a look (Is it that black dot???...) I went for breakfast!! My wife and I were over on holiday and on that day we had decided to visit Stonehenge. I arrived in the carpark down there at 1000 and the first thing I did was jump out of the car and grab the binoculars to have another look. Got another great view as the transit had moved on quite a bit, but to my surprise when I took the binoculars away and looked around me there was a group of people standing waiting for a view. I had parked beside a couple of coaches and the people had seen what I was up to and had came over for a look. I had people from all over the world wanting to have a quick view of the sun. I could have stood there all day showing people the transit and I must say I'm a bit surprised no astronomy club decided to hold an event there, Stonehenge being located in a large open space and the way it is connected to the sun would have made this a great venue!! I found out from the tourist information available that since the early 18th century it has been widely believed that there is an astronomical explanation as to Stonehenge's purpose. Stonehenge in its present day condition is incomplete as originally there was a full circle of sarsens containing a specific arrangement of smaller stones. The axis of the monument is in alignment with sunrise on the longest day of the year. The position of the entrance has been changed through the centuries to compensate for astronomical variation in the midsummer sunrise. Recent research has suggested links between stone positions and the points on the horizon of the settings of the sun and moon. There are also tentative theories of links between the stones and eclipse predictions. Although there may not be any archaeological evidence to support the use of Stonehenge as an astronomical observatory, the conjecture and theories could have made the placing of a transit day there very interesting.
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I just wish I had, had my scope there as it would have been easier for people to see. Some people were having problems locating the sun and I had to guide them a bit as the binoculars are a bit shaky without a tripod. Everyone that we let observe the transit was very interested in learning more, and extremely thankful that we had given them this once in a lifetime opportunity. Eventually we got to have a walk round Stonehenge (we would recommend this if you are ever in the area) and left for our next location, pulled in at the side of the road at 1155 for a last look at the transit and had to go on before third contact but it was getting slightly cloudy at this time so I didn't mind. All in all I really enjoyed it and look forward to more experiences like this. Also I am proud to think that I was able to get others involved in learning about astronomy in some small way, and I did mention EAAS when asked how I knew about the transit and how to view it safely.
I am looking forward to going to more meetings in the club next season and becoming involved in events, as I have only recently become a member. I have been into astronomy for a couple of years now but am still very much a beginner. It just goes to show that a beginner with very little knowledge can go out and show 'unbelievers' the wonder of astronomy! I hope other beginners reading this will be encouraged by my experience. I hope my little story didn't bore you too much, but you can blame John because he put me up to it!!
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