Something remarkable

Every so often, the planet Venus does something remarkable. Its orbit brings it to a point directly between the Sun and the Earth, where it appears to us as a black dot moving across the bright disc of the Sun. This transit of Venus is rare, occurring in pairs eight years apart and then not for more than a hundred years; it has fascinated astronomers for centuries.

Nick Lomb, Transit of Venus: 1631 to the present (NewSouth Publishing, 2011)

Seeing last week's transit of Venus was an exciting and humbling experience. More than just an interesting celestial phenomenon, it was an almost tangible link to astronomers of the past. Astronomers such as Jeremiah Horrocks, who was the first person to see a transit of Venus, in 1639; or poor Guillaume le Gentil, whose attempts to observe in 1761 and 1769 kept him away from home for more than nine years and only met with failure; Captain James Cook, who used the 1769 expedition to observe the transit in Tahiti as a base for exploration and discovery; or the Australian astronomers who used a Janssen apparatus to make a photoheliograph of the 1874 transit. 

I read about all of these people and the history of the transits of Venus and their effect on the world in a great book written by astronomer Nick Lomb. (Click on the book cover at left for more info.) The book is full of gorgeous colour: illustrations and diagrams from astronomers of past times; photographs of historic instruments; and modern astronomical images.

Astronomers such as Kepler, Halley and Isaac Newton—who all helped to predict and identify the dates of Venus transits—never saw the phenomenon themselves. Unfortunately, if you missed the one on June 6th this year, you probably won't get to see the next one, which is due in December 2117.

Friday fashion parade

Checking out the internet for information about the transit of Venus this week, I stumbled on this video clip about a steampunk festival in a historic town on New Zealand's South Island. It's now on my bucket list: just let me fire up the dirigible.

Finishing touches: kit bag

The Urban Explorer's Kit Bag is almost finished. Today I've created the casing and buttonholes for the top closure of the bag and added a shoulder strap. I've used a spring toggle to hold the cord, but if you can't find a spring toggle at your local haberdashery store you can simply tie the cord in a bow to close the bag when you draw the top together. Lastly, I added small brass bells to the ends of the cord as a nod to the bell that the boy finds attached to The Lost Thing in the book and animated movie.

If you would like the pattern and complete instructions for making this bag, please come back to this blog on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, to see photos of the finished project and get the instructions for how to download the free PDF.

Inventiveness

Yesterday the planet Venus passed across the face of the Sun for the second time in a decade, although we won't see a similar sight for another century. I went to the University of Sydney where astronomy students and staff had put together a variety of telescopes and other equipment to observe this rare celestial event, despite viewing being limited to sporadic breaks in the clouds. I was particularly impressed with one piece of steampunk inventiveness: a large plastic funnel that had been converted into a viewing screen so that many people could see at once. Despite the clouds, we had an excellent view of the small black dot in its progress (you can see it at about the 7 o'clock mark in the image below). A big thank you to the University, staff and students who made it possible for ordinary observers like me to witness a twice-in-a-lifetime event!

Here's what Jules Verne said (in his book, Celebrated Travels and Travellers) about the 1769 transit, observed by Captain James Cook in Tahiti:

And now the moment for the execution of the primary object of the voyage approached. Cook accordingly took steps for putting the instructions he had received into effect....

On passing the sun, the rim of Venus was elongated as though attracted. A black point or dark ligament, a little less dark than the body of the star, was formed; the same phenomenon occurred upon the second interior contact.

"The observation," says Cook, "was made with equal success at the fort, and by those I had sent to the east of the island. From the rising to the setting of the sun, not a single cloud obscured the sky, and Mr. Green, Dr. Solander, and myself, observed the entire transit of Venus with the greatest ease.... We noted a luminous atmosphere or fog surrounding the planet, which rendered the actual moment of contact and especially of interior contacts somewhat indistinct. To this fact it is owing that our observations varied somewhat one from the other."

Jules Verne himself was alive for the transits of 1874 and 1882, although he may not have actually observed either event. I do hope you had an opportunity to see this one, and that some of us might still be alive in 105 years when the next transit occurs!

Dieselpunk

In case you've never heard of it, Dieselpunk is the younger sister of Steampunk, featuring early twentieth century style along with motor cars, planes and war machines. If your tastes run to Dieselpunk, you won't want to miss this amazing archive of photographs of American aircraft workers in the early '40s. Incredibly, the Kodachrome slides are as fresh and colourful as if they were taken yesterday. After you take a look, please come back and express your astonishment in the comments here!

Making the urban explorer's bag

Today I am sewing the Urban Explorer's Kit Bag together. Step one is to sew the rectangles of fabric into tubes, then step two is to pin and stitch the circular bases into one end. Finish the edges with a zigzag stitch, then turn the lining bag right side out and slip it inside the outer bag, so that the right sides are together.

Stitch the two pieces together around the top edge, leaving a small opening near the seam so that you can turn the whole thing right side out before sewing up the opening by hand. Next, I'll be adding the finishing touches to the bag, including carrying straps and a cord to close the top opening and keep your things safe. Remember, I'll give you a link to download all of the instructions and templates, including the measurements for the bag, at the end of the project, so please keep checking in to find out how you can download the PDF.

Practical printmaking

Today I attended an art class at Culture at Work, where we were learning to make prints using foam sheets. The technique is to draw quite heavily on the foam with an ordinary pencil, making deep gouges in the surface, then roll on ink and print onto paper in the same way as a lino print. I haven't done this type of printmaking since high school, and I was quite pleased with my effort. So pleased, in fact, that I'm selling the three copies I made in my Etsy shop.

The image is a freehand drawing based on a photograph in today's newspaper. I've called it Steelwork.

Culture at Work runs art classes featuring all sorts of art techniques on Wednesday mornings at 10.30. It's located in Pyrmont, Sydney. Click on the link to the website for more details and join us if you live nearby.