On 5-6 June 2012, depending on where you are on Earth, there will be a transit of Venus, a rare phenomenon that is not to be repeated until December 11, 2117.
When a planet passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun. As you can grasp from the discription we can only see, from Earth, transits of Venus and Mercury.
Transits of Venus occur in pairs separated by eight years, followed by an interval of more than a century. The latest transits were on 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and on June 8, 2004. This will be the last opportunity of the century, and the last opportunity for the vast majority of humans alive today, where you can observe a transit of Venus.
So can you see the transit from were you are? Check out this map from F. Espenak, NASAs GSFC to find out.
(click on the image to get a large PDF version)
For your local transit times we suggest you visit the page from transitofvenus.nl.
Even if you are in an area were it is not possible to see the event first hand, you can see it and get involved thru one of the many projects developed around the transit. Check out in this page some of the amazing things people are planning…
Astronomers Without Borders Innovating
Astronomers Without Borders has some special plans for this rare event, which will be seen by most of the world’s population. Venus Transit Phone App: Owners of mobile devices using the Apple and Android operating systems can now take part in the largest effort ever to emulate the scientists who sailed around the world to observe transits of Venus. The free app was developed by Steven van Roode of the Transit of Venus Project in conjunction with AWB. Learn more about the transit of Venus, find out what to expect from where you are, see what others are doing and share your own experiences, and more. Use the web app from any web browser. Live Webcast of the Transit of Venus from Mount Wilson Observatory – Astronomers Without Borders will be webcasting live from world-famous Mount Wilson Observatory during this rare event, along with top experts in the history of astronomy, authors, and others will gather at the best location for seeing the Venus transit on the North American continent.
http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/projects/transit-of-venus.html
Amazing educational material produced by Manthan Association (GTTP India)
So, to view and understand this rare celestial event Manthan Educational Programme Society, India has developed several hands-on activities along with special Safe Solar Viewers made from Black Polymer (One of the safest material used to view the Sun). Be a witness to this rarity event in your lifetime on the 5th and 6th June of 2012 which would happen at different times as per your location on the globe. In India Transit of Venus will be visible on 6 June 2012. You can follow our daily updates related to the Transit of Venus on https://www.facebook.com/TransitOfVenus2012
Global efforts for education with the Japanese Hands-on Universe Team
The Japanese Hands-on Universe are calling for images from all over the world with a nice idea to measure the astronomical unit and prepare a nice activity to remain as a legacy of the ephemeris. People are being invited to share their images. Specifics about the image takes and share can be found here: http://www.eclipse2012.jp/team-m/Venus/index-e.html
Our message to the future from GLORIA
The GLORIA team is also inviting the whole world to contribute with their images to leave them as a legacy to future generations. For many people on the planet, this will be their only chance to see a transit of Venus. What story do we want to tell to our descendants who will see the next transit in 105 years? What was going on in the world on June 5th/6th 2012, against the backdrop of this magnificent cosmic spectacle? We would like people to document this historic event by turning their cameras back to Earth to capture images of special places, everyday life, memorable events, themselves and their loved ones, on the days of June 5th and 6th 2012 : http://gloria-project.eu/get-involved/
Observing the transit live with the Bareket Observatory (GTTP Israel)
A free, live webcast from Bareket Observatory in Israel will feature the Venus transit on June 6, 2012. This relatively rare ‘mini solar eclipse’ promises to be a truly unique astronomical event. A similar transit will not occur until 2117. This should be one of the most spectacular Venus transits in the last years! This special webcast will take place from 02.33 – 04.56 UTC (GMT) June 15 – (05.33 – 07.56 Israel local time). For more information : visit the Live Venus transit page (you’ll be automatically transfered to the live images, during the event): http://www.bareket-astro.com/live-astronomical-web-cast/live-free-venus-transit-webcast-6-june-2012.html
Views from Chile
The American Museum of Natural History is also proposing a global collaboration and inviting schools from all over the world to share their measurements. Here are some useful tips on how to participate
http://www.das.uchile.cl/~drodrigu/easter/index_en.html