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On June 5 and 6, 2012 the planet Venus will pass in front of the Sun for the last time this century. Millions around the world will witness this rare astronomical phenomenon.
This website is entirely devoted to the transit of Venus: its history, where and when you should watch it and what you can do to get involved in the observation. Learn more...
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Author Archives: Chuck Bueter
Take a note from the experts – the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is practicing for the 2012 transit of Venus. This Wednesday, January 11, 2012, the space-borne telescope will dedicate several orbits to acquiring and observing the Hipparchus-C and Dolland-E … Continue reading
Transits and exoplanets were among the myriad of interesting topics this week at the American Astronomical Society conference in Austin, TX. Four perspectives on the transit of Venus opened the dialogue on Sunday, January 8, under the auspices of the … Continue reading
Ahhh, the holidays, when liquid refreshments abound. Steven van Roode shared Joseph Bank’s account of excessive libations aboard the Endeavour on Christmas Day in 1768. When the December 1874 transit of Venus concluded, some sailors in the Pacific again turned … Continue reading
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, PA, USA. In a demonstration of pioneering science, the U.S. Naval Observatory set up an exhibit using the actual American transit of … Continue reading
Transits of Venus, past and present, are certainly part of the buzz at the Great Lakes Planetarium Association Annual Conference currently underway in Champaign, Illinois, USA. Yesterday Gene Zajac, planetarian at Shaker Heights High School, Ohio, and I led a … Continue reading
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“And we have liftoff… liftoff of Sun-Earth Day 2012. The annual celebration features a new Sun-Earth Day 2012 website of resources as only NASA can deliver.” Frankly, I’m hoping you don’t read this entire blog post. I’m hoping that your … Continue reading
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. opens his poem The Flaneur with an appreciative eye to the things of both man and nature. I love all sights of earth and skies… All curious things, above, below, Hold each in turn my wandering … Continue reading
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Tagged 1882, Holmes, poetry, sidewalk astronomy, transit, Venus
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The Hubble Space Telescope will be aimed at the moon to detect dips in brightness during the 2012 transit of Venus. In an interview explaining how the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) allocates time on the telescope, Dr. Matt Mountain, … Continue reading
Imagine the pressure. At great expense your nation has sent you on a distant venture to perform a discrete task, which is ostensibly of prime importance for your country. It’s like being astronaut Alan Shepard, awaiting launch atop the Freedom … Continue reading
Postage stamps often commemorate historic events, and the transit of Venus shares that distinction. While many international stamps depict the local persons who have recorded a transit of Venus — Mikhail Lomonosov, William Wales, Maximilian Hell, etc. — a few … Continue reading
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