NASA Releases Animation of Upcoming Rare Astronomical Event, the Venus Transit

Posted on April 20, 2012

NASA released an animation showing an artist's conception of the upcoming Venus Transit when Venus passes directly between earth and the sun. This is one of the most rare astronomical events. The next transit will occur on June 5th or 6th, depending on where you are on the planet. North Americans will see the transit the evening of June 5th.

Transits of Venus come in pairs, eight years apart. The last one was in 2004. After the one in June, another will not occur until December, 2117, and in December 2125.

There will be live web feeds to watch. If you want to watch the transit, you (and any children you're responsible for) need to take the same precautions you would for viewing a solar eclipse, by using special glasses or telescope lenses. Viewing a transit with the naked eye can cause serious retinal damage.

Here is the NASA animation:

The above images were captured by NASA's Sun-observing TRACE spacecraft.

You can read more about the Venus Transit at NASA's website. You can see a transit visibility map here.

SPACE
NASA