CSU East Bay students and community members had the opportunity Tuesday to view a celestial phenomenon that will not take place again for over 100 years.

“The transit of Venus is simply Venus passing between us and the sun,” explained Luis Villanueva, a lecturer of physics at CSUEB.

Gary Weston, an associate professor of physics at CSUEB, organized a viewing party replete with three telescopes, rudimentary cardboard solar glasses and welding masks, all in a successful bid to spark interest in the transit of Venus.

“I love to help people see rare things,” said Weston. “I’ve been very fortunate to have many students show a lot of excitement in the transit of Venus.”

Throughout the afternoon, students and residents were lining up on the east lawn of the Science buildings to catch a glimpse of the tiny black dot slowly encroaching on and moving across the sun’s bright orange and yellow disk. The looks on the faces of the spectators when they finally saw Venus communicated excitement, perplexity and wonder.

Marking the event with an air of particular importance was the knowledge that anyone viewing a transit of Venus at this gathering would most likely not be alive to see the next one, as there isn’t another one expected until 2117.

“The reason this doesn’t happen more often is the orbit of Venus is tilted relative to the orbit of the Earth, and so most of the time when Venus and Earth are on the same side of the sun, Venus is either above or below the sun,” Villanueva elucidated.

The Transit of Venus was instrumental in establishing the size of the solar system, allowing astronomers to use trigonometry to measure the distance between the Earth, Venus, and the Sun.

While Villanueva felt confident in his ability to inform those participating, he didn’t expect the event to draw much of a crowd.

“I didn’t realize there would be so much interest in the transit of Venus,” said Villanueva eagerly.

“I doubt very many people knew what was going to happen, and even knew what a transit was. Everyone who has come here to look through the telescopes has not failed to be impressed, and that makes me feel really good,” he continued with a confident smile.

“I’m overwhelmed,” he said, referring to the turnout.

As viewers stepped up to the telescopes and wooden solar projectors, Weston and Villanueva could be heard explaining the sights they were seeing.

Solar prominences — the technical name for solar storms and activity — could be seen along the edges of the sun’s disk, as Weston explained the sun is currently experiencing a high activity period.

“It’s really spectacular,” said Fred Zankowsky, a resident of Castro Valley and CSUEB alumnus, referring to the scene of the sun and Venus he had just experienced through a tiny viewfinder attached to an impressive telescope with a thick solar filter affixed to the front end.

“It’s incredible,” said Zankowsky. “I had no idea they were doing this here today, and it’s really amazing to participate in this. For them to have it out here and have it available for everyone, it’s really a great opportunity.”

“If we have the equipment available to people, they’ll be more inclined to take an interest in it,” said Villanueva.

Weston said he thinks more people would have been excited to come see the transit had they known it was taking place.

For Weston, the transit of Venus pales in comparison to other astronomical actions, such as a full solar eclipse, yet, he was still thoroughly content to be assisting in the viewing.

“It’s super exciting when people get a chance to see something they have never seen before,” said Weston. “I love it.”