Venus Transit 2012

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Venus will transit the face of the Sun today, as viewed from Earth, in a very rare astronomical event. My understanding is that the Venus transits occur in pairs eight years apart. The last one occurred in 2004, making the 2012 transit the last in the current series. This event will not occur again until the year 2117. 

A transit of Venus occurs when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth.
The BBC said Venus will appear as a tiny black dot moving against the Sun, but warned that viewers shouldn't look directly at it as this can cause serious injury and even blindness. In North America, the Caribbean, and northwestern South America, the beginning of the transit will be visible on 5 June until sunset. From sunrise on 6 June, the end of the transit will be visible from South Asia, the Middle East, east Africa and most of Europe. It will not be visible from most of South America or western Africa.

The journey of Venus across the Sun will take more than six and a half hours, starting at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, June 5, and ending at around 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) on Wednesday, June 6, according to Space.com. For anyone who is not able to see the transit of Venus in person, there are other ways to catch the historic event online.


I believe this is a significant event because of how rarely it will occur. the transit of Venus is an event that most of the world will be able to witness. It is a major astronomical event that can be a shared experience that nearly the entire population can take part in witnessing.