People around the world watched Transit of Venus - UPDATE - PHOTOS - VIDEO

Last night, Venus crossed the face of the sun. People living in North America, Europe, Asia and eastern Africa, were able to witness this historic celestial event, which won't happen again for more than a century.

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 05.06.12
 18:32

The last chance most of us will ever have to see the planet Venus pass in front of the sun is coming up this Tuesday (June 5).

On that day, more than half the world will get to see an exceedingly rare event: a transit of Venus crossing the face of the sun at inferior conjunction. A transit of Venus is among the rarest of astronomical events, rarer even than the return of Halley's Comet every 76 years. Only six transits of Venus are known to have been observed by humans before: in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and most recently in 2004.

When Venus is in transit across the solar disk, the planet appears as a distinct, albeit tiny, round black spot with a diameter just 1/32 that of the sun. This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye; however, prospective observers are warned to take safety precautions (as with a solar eclipse) in attempting to view the silhouette of Venus against the blindingly brilliant face of the sun. Special glasses or telescope filters must be used at all times.
 
“The dark spot of Venus will be visible within a few hours, particularly from 3:10 June 6 to 9:50 June 6 [Baku time],” Director of the Batabat Astrophysical Observatory of the ANAS Gulu Khaziyev told Day.Az.

‘Azerbaijan’s residents will also be able to follow a unique astronomical phenomenon. The transit of Venus can be seen through a small telescope, a monocle (the binoculars) with special dark glass filters, significantly reducing the light output, " he said.

/Today.Az/