Below is a celebration in verse of an event that will not happen again until 2117.
Transit of Venus - 5/6 June 2012
Transit of Venus - 5/6 June 2012
At one fifth faster
than the earth
Venus will cross the
sun,
And once the
silhouette touches the disc,
New learning will have
begun.
Telescopes on earth
and in space
Will be trained on the
planet’s path,
Or watching the moon
to see the extent
Its surface fades
minim’ly dark.
For seven brief hours
in the full transit zone
Information will be
streamed
To compare the effects
of alignments afar
Of stars with their
planets unseen;
Where the falls in
light
And the change of the
shifts
Of the spectra from
light years away
Will be measured
against our neighbour’s effect
On our life-giving
star today.
This chance is the
last for a century and more;
It will not risk the
lives
Of observers, as did
Edmond Halley’s grand plan
Of seventeen
sixty-nine:
Then, the distance
from earth to sun was the quest
And travel to parts of
the zone
Was imperilled by
pirates or threat of disease
Yet established that
vital touchstone.
So with wonder we’ll
watch this unusual event
(though not with the
naked eye)
And marvel at what the
alignment reveals
To interpret the
tracts of the sky.
‘Tis a time to reflect
with both wonder and awe
at creation’s vast
distant arrays.
Is it nature or God
that established this all?
If the latter, observe
now with praise.
If you take the latter view of the last two lines, you might like to read (or sing) Stars and Planets Sing Your Glory It fits the Beethoven tune 'Ode to Joy’
Other poems, meditations and songs with a SCIENCE & FAITH theme can be accessed HERE
Other poems, meditations and songs with a SCIENCE & FAITH theme can be accessed HERE
