A rather rarecelestialphenomenonis about to happen. To describe just how rare this event is I’ll let Wikipedia explain.
Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.
Atransit of Venustook place on 8 June 2004 and thenextwill be on 6 June 2012. The previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882. After 2012, the next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
Suffice to say you’ll be alive for the next transit – in June – but you may not be alive for the next one.
I know where I’ll be in June. Watching Venus move across the Sun.
For more information take a look at TransitOfVenus.org