Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Clouds fail to deter Venus-watchers

By Our Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 8. For a city notorious for sweltering heat, it was an unusually overcast sky. The Sun God chose to play `hide and seek' for most of the day. Yet the truant Sun could not keep the hundreds of stargazers from viewing the rare celestial phenomenon, when the Venus attempted to eclipse it.

And thanks to the Jana Vignana Vedika, scores of people managed to steal glimpses of Venus partly covering the Sun in the form of a black spot, about the size of a lemon. The Railway Institute and the Government ITI college made special arrangements for the viewing of the phenomenon, which occurred between 10.45 a.m. and 4.31 p.m. But it was visible only between 10.45 a.m and 11.45 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 4.31 p.m. As for the rest of the period, the Sun chose to hide behind the clouds even as the city witnessed a brief shower towards afternoon.

"I was fondly hoping to view the rare occurrence. But, luck wasn't on my side,'' lamented a housewife, K. Anusuyama at the Railway Institute. The woman had come to the venue in the afternoon hoping to watch the spectacle. But, by then, the Sun was enveloped by dark clouds, dampening the spirits of several enthusiastic gazers. However, there were many who did catch glimpses of Venus with the help of solar filters and welder shields.

The vedika had set up a dozen such shields at the ITI venue, while at the Railway Institute solar filters were provided. At both places, the organisers had also installed small mirrors to transfer the reflections on to a white poster which was viewed by several people. "It is a phenomenon that occurs once in 121 years. So, I thought I wouldn't miss it,'' says, R. Kumar, a Government school teacher.

For T. Srinivas Rao, a student of Andhra Loyola College, it was a wonderful experience that he would cherish for a long moment. "I had been reading about in the newspapers for the past several days. And, today, after seeing the beautiful event, I think it will remain etched in my memory for a very long time,'' he says.

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