Venus transit casts wide spell

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Waking up groggily, little Sivasankaran went straight to his grandmother Shyamala, asking her to take him to Birla Planetarium. “He saw the Venus transit on television and immediately wanted me to bring him here,” said Shyamala, 54, who was equally excited to see the rare celestial activity at the city’s planetarium on Wednesday.

A Class II student of Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya, R. Sivasankaran appeared to know something about astronomy, as he quickly pointed out the difference between black spots on the sun and the Venus transit. “I will become a scientist and work in the Indian Air Force,” the little boy told Deccan Chronicle.

The child and his grandmother were busy discussing the intricacies of the transit when 45 girls from MWA Matriculation Higher Secondary School clad in pink salwar kameez entered the science park. “I saw Venus crossing the sun clearly,” exclaimed R. Jeevitha, a Class XII student.

Within minutes, the whole area was abuzz with the tiny tots from AMM Matriculation Higher Secondary School dressed in bright blue joining the queue to watch the Venus transit through a protected telescope.

“I usually come to the planetarium whenever there is a special show,” said Class IV student M. Karthi, clutching his water bottle.

Wednesday’s transit was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for retired TNSC bank manager N. Ponnusamy. “Venus is our sister planet and I will not be alive when the next transit takes place in 2117. So I came early in the morning and witnessed the transit,” he said.

“In the olden days, we used to mix water with cowdung in a vessel and watch the sun’s shadow. We also used smoked glass to witness the eclipse. Now we have the latest telescopes and I did not want to miss the opportunity,” he said.

Taekwondo coach P. Sri Ram skipped morning classes to witness the Venus transit. “I felt like seeing God. I experienced ‘bhakti’ similar to what I feel when I visit Tirupati,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

The public appreciated the excellent arrangements made by the planetarium authorities, including the serving of breakfast to break the myth that people should not eat during an eclipse.

The science city also managed to hook some youngsters to astronomy. “I want to become a rocket scientist,” said Mitula Shivani, a Class VIII student of Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School. Chettinad Vidyashram’s Class X student, S. Eshwar, plans to specialise in astrophysics.