The 2012 transit of Venus between the Earth and the Sun

The rare astronomical event, known as the Transit of Venus, occurs on June 5-6, 2012. The last transit occurred in December 2004. They occur in pairs eight years apart. Not everyone across the globe will see it. The NASA/GSFC visibility chart shows that the entire transit can be seen from the west Pacific Rim (provided by Fred Espenak in the cloud map by Jay Anderson). However, most of the world will see the partial transit. Excellent sites for viewing a partial transit can be found in southwestern America, the Middle East, and Madagascar. Regions that won’t see it are Africa (southwest and northwest) and most of South America. The best place to see it is likely to be northern Australia.

(http://rses.anu.edu.au/~jcali/eclipses/PLANNING/ToV2012p/2012TransitOfVenus.html)

The previous pair occurred in 1874 and 1882. The next pair will occur in hundred years, in December 2117 and December 2125.

A Transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes across the face of the Sun. The Mayans felt this was a critical event, and would foretell what would happen at year's end, at the end of the Mayan calendar December 21, 2012. The Mayans also felt the lunar eclipse of June 4 and the transit of Venus on June 5-6 were bound together in meaning, and that it was not a coincidence that they were happening together. Despite the foreboding predicted by the Mayans, the Transit of Venus is one of the most remarkable aspects of astronomy.

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