See the Transit of Venus—the last one in your lifetime!
SIBERIA & LAKE BAIKAL
This year, travel with The Planetary Society!
June 1-12, 2012

We invite you to join us for the extraordinary opportunity to see the Transit of Venus, June 1-12, 2012, as we explore Siberia & Lake Baikal!

Join us!... And watch Venus slowly pass across the disk of the Sun!—an amazing phenomenon first predicted by Johann Kepler in 1631 and an inspiration for the great voyage of Captain Cook in 1769!

The Transit of Venus is extremely rare. The last one occurred in 2004. Due to the nature of the motion of Venus, the Transits of Venus occur in twos and the next one will be in 2012. After that there will be no others until 2117. So the June 6, 2012 Transit of Venus is a last-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Our 12-day journey will begin in Moscow where we will discover the enchantment of Moscow’s Kremlin, with its frescoed Archangel Cathedral, Armory Museum, political
offices, and historic buildings. We will have a special visit to Star City, where Russia’s cosmonauts and astronauts from many countries train.

We will then fly to Irkutsk, the “Paris of Siberia,” with
striking gold-domed churches and wooden homes with blue and green shutters.

The next day, we will go to the Lake Baikal Solar
Observatory where we will observe the Transit of Venus! It is a great natural phenomenon and will be a never-to-be-forgotten experience!

The transit lasts for six hours and so we will aim to spend the afternoon at the observatory viewing it. Passengers may also wish to bring their own telescopes.

Afterwards, we will board M/V Vampilov, a comfortable ship with modest accommodations for 30 participants plus leaders.

We will venture more than 250 miles up Lake Baikal. The Russian “Galapagos Islands,” Baikal is the single richest location in Russia for endemism, a fabulous reservoir of unique flora and fauna. Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake in the world, and stores nearly 20% of the freshwater on earth. It contains more than 1,500 species unique to Baikal, and hundreds more endemics on the surrounding mountainsides.

Our visit will include Pribaikalsky and Zabaikalsky
National Parks; Maloe More, the “small sea” and Olkhon Island, to visit the fishing village, school, and museum. We will walk along the marble headlands of Baikal’s famous “ Shaman Rock” and explore the Ushkanyi Islands, home to the “nerpa” seals of Lake Baikal.

Join us... as we discover the delights of Siberia and the Transit of Venus, which has fascinated astronomers for 380 years!

Sincerely,
Bill Nye, The Science Guy ®
Executive Director

$5,995 + air.

Brochure (Requires an Adobe pdf reader to view)