This picture shows what a transit of Venus might look like. The big black dot near the bottom is Venus. The yellow arrows show how Venus will move during the transit in 2004.
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
Sometimes planets go in between Earth and the Sun. When that happens astronomers
call it a "transit". On June 8, 2004, the planet Venus will move between Earth
and the Sun. There will be a transit of
Venus!
A transit is a bit like an eclipse
of the Sun. There hasn't been a transit
of Venus in more than 100 years!
The last one was in the year 1882.
Remember, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun. This NASA web site tells you how to safely watch the transit. It also has lots of good info about Venus transits.
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"Transit" is a special term astronomers use. A transit is like an eclipse of the Sun. When an eclipse of the Sun happens, the Moon gets between us and the Sun and blocks the sunlight. When a transit happens,
...moreSometimes the planet Venus gets between Earth and the Sun. When it does, we see a black dot move across the Sun. The black dot is Venus. Astronomers have a name for this. They call it a "transit"
...moreSometimes the planet Venus goes between Earth and the Sun. From Earth it looks like a black dot moves across the Sun. Astronomers call this a transit of Venus. Transits of Venus don't happen very often.
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