Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/06/06/venus_transit/
Missed the Venus solar flyby? It's only 105 years to the next one
Or you could just watch this hi-def NASA video
Posted in Science, 6th June 2012 12:01 GMT
Vid Stargazers and astronomers were out in force last night for the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, an event that won't happen again for 105 years.
It took the planet almost seven hours to pass in front of our solar system's star, and regular folks had to watch with suitable telescopes or through special viewing devices, which was the bit Reg Oz found difficult.
NASA was watching from pretty much every angle it could: orbiting super-camera Hubble took images of it (using sunlight reflected off the Moon), the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite and TRACE satellite had a peek, and even astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station snapped some pictures.
Venus transits occur in pairs, with eight years between them, followed by another wait of at least 100 years to the next appearance. The last transit was on June 8, 2004 and there have been 53 passes in the last 4,000 years. ®