Photo by Suzanne Thompson

Suzanne Thompson/Special to the Commercial Appeal James Rickman went to Shelby Farms where members of the Memphis Astrological Society set up telescopes to view Venus’ transit across the sun.

Recently, when Venus made its transit across the Sun, it drew the attention of people around the world to astronomy.

People gathered on the lawn of the Pink Palace Museum and at Shelby Farms Park to view this rare occurrence, which takes place once every 105 years.

Members of the Memphis Astronomical Society, brought telescopes, both modern and traditional, and let people use them to observe Venus as it passed in front of the sun.

John Smith, who joined MAS about a year ago, said he has had an interest in stargazing for some time, but has just taken his interest to the next level, and now considers astronomy a hobby.

“I’ve always wanted a telescope and finally I decided to break down and buy one.”

Smith’s telescope is a modern one, called a “Go To Telescope,” which contains a database, and tracks the movement of stars as the earth rotates.

By entering GPS coordinates the telescope will automatically move to the desired location, which can be adjusted by remote control.

This was convenient when Venus made its transit across the sun, because the planet was slowly moving, and Smith could easily change the telescope’s direction to keep the best view.

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