The photo's above were taken by Nat of the Transit of Venus whilst on holiday in Crete
Maybe it's a reflection on modern life, but we all seem to be trying 'to kill two birds with one stone'. My first 'bird' was an annual break in sunny Crete and my second to view the 2004 Transit of Venus from a guaranteed clear sky site.
Airport security was less impressed. Eyes lit up as the usual toothbrush and disposable camera were replaced on the x-ray screen by the circular counter-weights of a telescope mounting. The barrel of the 4" refractor inside its padded hockey stick bag was escorted to a special hold unit; post 9/11 metal tubes are naturally unwelcome in passenger facilities. Fortunately sufficient officials were convinced of my bona fide status and indeed showed interest in the forthcoming astronomical event.
I had originally planned to link the 4" Sky-Watcher (Meade optics) refractor with a SLR camera, but lack of connectors and insufficient expertise caused this to be abandoned, hence the angled image. Even though Crete was 2 hours behind the UK a sea mist still prevented an observation of first contact, but soon after the blue Mediterranean sky returned allowing the assembled throng of tourists, hotel staff and myself to watch Aphrodite's progress across the face of Helios.