(editor's note: Mark your calendars for June 5 & 6; an event you won't want to miss and one that won't be repeated until 2117. Venus will take a 6-hour stroll across the face of the Sun.
I'm so happy to report that news of activities happening outside and around our planet continue to intrigue more and more people!
Just a few years ago, "space geeks" were the only ones interested in all the wonderous events of our neighboring planets, stars, and galaxies. Now it seems everyone has their eyes to the skies!
The view from down here is a special vantage point, so I hope you enjoy this report and get a better understanding of how important YOU are to the beautiful Cosmos we all call home.
~All my Love, Boo)
Venus to Appear in Once-In-A-Lifetime Event
It will take Venus about six hours to complete its transit, appearing as a small black dot on the Sun's surface, in an event that will not happen again until 2117.
Transits of Venus occur only on the very rare occasions when Venus and Earth are in a line with the Sun. At other times Venus passes below or above the Sun because the two orbits are at a slight angle to each other. Transits occur in pairs separated by eight years, with the gap between pairs of transits alternating between 105.5 and 121.5 years -- the last transit was in 2004.
"We are fortunate in that we are truly living in a golden period of planetary transits and it is one of which I hope astronomers can take full advantage," says Jay M Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College, Massachusetts.
