The Transit of Venus is when the Planet Venus passes
directly between the Earth and the Sun. The next one will occur on June 6th,
2012.
The Transit of Venus is a rare occurence and happens in pairs with more
than a century separating each pair.
What is the Transit of Venus?
Transit of Venus is the black silhouette of Planet Venus
crossing the Sun's face. It appears as a black disk 1/32 as wide as the Sun
itself. The Transit of Venus occurs at intervals of 8 years, 121.5 years, 8
years and 105.5 years. The Transit of Venus occurs in pairs (two times - eight
years apart) and then followed by a gap of over 100 years. The last time the
Transit of Venus was in December 6th, 1882.
The next Transit of Venus will occur in June 6th, 2012. The
following transit will occur in December 11th 2117.
Why are Transits of Venus so rare?
When observing Venus from the Earth, it usually appears to pass above or
below the Sun, rather than crossing it.
Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun roughly once every nineteen
months. Venus orbits the Sun just over three times in the time it takes the
Earth to orbit twice.
However, there are at most two transits of Venus every century. This is
because Venus and the Earth orbit the Sun at a slight angle to each other.
Where can you view the Transit of
Venus
The Transit of Venus will be visible from most parts of the
earth (weather permitting). All of Europe and most of Asia and Africa will
experience the entire transit. It will take about six hours from the time Venus
first enters the Sun's edge until it exits.
How can I watch the transit safely?
Never look at the Sun directly with the naked eye or through a telescope or
binoculars. Doing so can lead to permanent blindness.
The safest way to view the event is by projecting an image of the Sun onto a
sheet of white paper or cardboard.
Do any other planets undergo transits?
From an Earth perspective, Mercury and Venus are the only planets that orbit
closer to the Sun than the Earth, so are the only planets that can transit the
Sun.
For the first time since December 6, 1882, the Planet Venus
will pass directly between our Planet Earth and the Sun's face.
History
There have been six Transits of Venus since the invention
of the telescope. They were: 1631, 1639, 1761, 1874 and 1882
Did you know?
-
The silhouette of Venus will appear five times larger
than the 2003 Transit of Mercury because Venus is twice the diameter and
will be twice as close to Earth.
-
Astronomers use transits to find planets (Exoplanets)
around other stars. A transit occurs whenever a small astronomical object
passes in front of a larger one.
-
Transits of Mercury are more common than transits of
Venus, and occur every three to thirteen years. The next one will occur on 8
November 2006.
