Transit of Venus

As the latest photos show, we were a select and enthusiastic band of celestial watchers on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning at Watermead Park in Leicester.  It rained on Tuesday afternoon and evening, but we constructed mobiles of the solar system, held a meteorite, learned about astronomy from Nishad Karim from University of Leicester, and covered our viewing tubes in safety film.
Next morning, reveille was 4.00am, the sky was a blanket of cloud, and it looked like the bank was building up in the north east sector of the sky, where we expected the sun to rise.
At 5.30 we prepared ourselves for disappointment; at 5.40 the sun burst above the cloud layer and we were rewarded for our patience with a clear sighting of the dot of Venus at the edge of the disk of the Sun.  Jubilation and cheering broke out.
Grinning and laughing, we returned to camp to eat ToV pancakes, cooked with Delia style skill and enthusiasm by Amy.  Blobs of chocolate spread showed where Venus had been in transit.
Thanks to all who turned out, and to the team for another demonstration of the joy that accrues when creativity, science and the community gather in one place.