This picture shows what the Venus transit in 2004 may look like. The big black dot near the bottom is Venus. The yellow arrows show how Venus will move during the transit.
This illustration is original Windows to the Universe artwork created by Randy Russell. The image of the Sun is courtesy SOHO (ESA & NASA); information on the apparent size and path of Venus courtesy Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC.
Venus Transit in June 2004
News story originally written on June 2, 2004
Astronomers are excited about a rare event that will happen in early
June 2004. There will be a transit of the
planet Venus on June 8, 2004. "Transit" is
a word used by astronomers when a planet moves between Earth and the
Sun. A transit is a bit like an eclipse
of the Sun, when the Moon moves between
Earth and the Sun.
This Venus transit will be the first one anyone alive today has seen. The
last transit of Venus was in 1882! There
will be another Venus transit in 2012.
This NASA
web site has lots of great info about the transit. Remember, it
is never safe to look directly at the Sun!
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