WUSTL neighbor Talmage Newton (above left) points out the path of Venus across the sun at the Crow Observatory June 5. The observatory was open to the public for a viewing of the twice-per-century transit of Venus across the sun. The transits come in pairs eight years apart at intervals of a little more than 100 years. Because the transit was the second of a pair, the next one won’t occur until 2117. Crow Hall’s 154-year-old Yeatman telescope projected an image of the sun about two feet in diameter that several people could simultaneously and safely view. On this solar image, Venus appeared as a black disk almost the size of a quarter. Also clearly visible were several sunspots — regions of the sun where strong magnetic fields keep the surface a little cooler, and thus darker, than most of the photosphere. Joining Newton were (from left) Anne Dollimore, a WUSTL neighbor, Samantha Karlow, a sophomore in pre-med and Brian Rauch, PhD, a post-doctoral research associate in physics in Arts & Sciences. Also viewing the transit were (bottom, from left) students Jordan Raisher, Adam Trebach and David Goldfinger, all seniors majoring in physics in Arts & Sciences. Credit: Kevin Lowder (2)