Science

Must See: This Cosmic Event Won’t Happen Again Until 2117

Venus Crosses Face of the Sun in Rare Cosmic Event for the Last Time in the Next 105 Years

For the last time in the next 105 years, Venus will cross the face of the Sun as visible to Earth. (Image: NASA)

HONOLULU (The Blaze/AP) — Unless you intend on living another 105 years, tonight and tomorrow provide your last chance to see one rarest cosmic spectacles. Those in the Western Hemisphere on Tuesday will be able to watch Venus slowly crossing the face of the sun, while those in Eastern Hemisphere can view it on Wednesday. The next time this event will occur is in 2117.

The nearly 7-hour show can be seen in its entirety from the western Pacific, eastern Asia and eastern Australia. Other parts of the globe will catch portions of the transit.

Here’s a sampling of local viewing times: 12:10 p.m. Honolulu; 3:06 p.m. Los Angeles; 5:06 p.m. Mexico City; 6:04 p.m. New York — all on Tuesday — and 5:37 a.m. London; 6:10 a.m. Beijing; 6:12 a.m. Hong Kong; 6:38 a.m. Cairo; 7:10 a.m. Tokyo; 8:16 a.m. Sydney; 10:15 a.m. Auckland on Wednesday.

Venus Crosses Face of the Sun in Rare Cosmic Event for the Last Time in the Next 105 Years

(Image via io9)

As in a solar eclipse, do not look directly at the sun. There are ways to watch the Venus transit without blinding yourself. See tips for how to view the sun during cosmic events such as these here.

Space.com and Life’s Little Mysteries helps you make your own “sun safe projector” for viewing this event in this video:

io9 has more on how the transit will take place:

Venus Crosses Face of the Sun in Rare Cosmic Event for the Last Time in the Next 105 Years

This image was from a similar event occurring in 2004. (Photo via io9)

The transit of Venus is a long-drawn affair; it takes almost twenty minutes for the planet to even creep entirely into view along the Sun’s outer edge.

When it finally does appear, Venus will be visible in the form of a black disc, about 1/32 the diameter of the Sun. That’s large enough for you to forego the use of binoculars or a telescope (with proper eye protection, of course — more on that below), but if you live in the Western Hemisphere, and you do have access to a properly outfitted telescope, these first twenty minutes are your chance to spot a phenomenon known as “the black drop effect,” whereby Venus appears to make its entrance onto the solar disc in the shape of a teardrop. (The image featured here shows the teardrop effect as photographed during 2004′s transit).

Skygazers in the green-labeled region of the Eastern Hemisphere will be able to catch a glimpse of the teardrop effect as Venus exits the solar disc. Those living in the white regions of the map featured above will be able to witness both black drop events.

To celebrate the last transit in a century, museums, observatories and astronomy clubs are setting up telescopes with special filters for the public. Many will also feature special programs including lectures.

Sky.com shares the thoughts of some experts awaiting the event:

“The Venus transit really brings home to us, in a unique way, how ordinary our Sun is. It’s just another star,” said scientist and author Mark Anderson.

“There’s something very humbling out of this experience. We are another planet in orbit around another star in another galaxy in another corner of the universe. It really brings it home to us,” Mr Anderson said.

[...]

“I’ve been planning this for a while,” space station flight engineer Don Pettit said in a Nasa interview.

“I knew the transit of Venus would occur during my rotation, so I brought a solar filter with me.”

If clouds spoil your view or if you’re shut out, there’s always the Internet. NASA plans a live webcast from Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Space.com will also be hosting a live webcast of the transit here.

Comments (81)

1 2
  • KangarooJack
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:54pm

    Kudos to the local College for opening up their Planetarium to the Public. It was really cool to see. Yes, it’s just a black dot on the Sun. But it was neat to compare our Earth’s size to the size of the Sun.
    There was a line of people-mostly families. I saw a mom lift up her infant to see. Of course, we know the kid won’t remember this-but, the kid did see this.

    Report Post » KangarooJack  
  • Bro Geo Too
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:23pm

    `
    2117? Fat chance on that happening.

    The way Obama is ruining our country combined with the track our world is on, at best we’ve got 15 to 20 years left. Lord willing I’ll catch that Venus stuff on the other side.

    Report Post »  
    • LetUsReason
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 9:12pm

      Ha! Yep, I imagine things will be MUCH different 100 years from now.

      Report Post »  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:17pm

    I wonder what a massive Solar Flare would do to Venus?

    Report Post » The-Monk  
    • jzs
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:01pm

      ASK UNCLE JZS

      An alert and devoted reader, a The-Monk asks, “I wonder what a massive Solar Flare would do to Venus?”

      The-Monk, the answer is that nothing would happen. Nobody lives there. There is no life on Venus.

      You’re probably wondering why there is no life on Mars when in terms of mass, distance from the sun and so on, Venus is a planet much life like Earth. The answer is that Venus’ atmosphere is mostly CO2, that greenhouse gas that many people worry about here on our home planet, Earth. Because of the CO2 content in the atmosphere of Venus the temperature on the surface is about 850 F, hot enough to melt lead. In general people who think that the thousands of tons of CO2 humans pump into the atmosphere each day couldn‘t possibly affect the temperature on Earth don’t know anything about Venus.

      As far as the ionized particles ejected from the sun with sunspots, that also would have no measurable effect of Venus. Those waves of ionized particles won’t blow away the atmosphere of Venus. And besides, nobody lives there. There’s too much CO2 in the atmosphere to allow temperatures conducive to life as we understand it.

      jzs  
    • db321
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:29pm

      I bet they get pretty bad Cell Phone Connections on Venus!

      Report Post » db321  
    • SpeckChaser
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:46pm

      Hey JZS,

      There is good news on the global warming debate. In 06 gore said we had 10 years to correct global warming or planet earth would be finished. For a while now you predicted walker would be recalled. The time came and you were mistaken. The time is soon aproaching where we will know for sure if GW exist. If you and Gore are right, we won‘t be alive and I won’t be able to own up to being wrong. But if I’m right, and the world will still be alive and kicking three years from now, we will know for sure if you are once again mistaken.

      So let the debate continue for we will have a definitive answer in several years.

      Report Post » SpeckChaser  
    • Therightsofbilly
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 12:27am

      Hey Uncle JZS,

      Do you think the fact that the Venutians live 26,000,000 miles closer to the sun than we earthlings that are celebrating the Walker election has anything to do with the higher temperatures, and lack of oxygen producing vegetation?

      Just a thought…….. I’m not a scientist or a “Wiki Wonder” like you.

      Report Post » Therightsofbilly  
    • Therightsofbilly
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 12:47am

      OOOps,

      Forgot to mention that the oxygen producing vegetation that does not exist, would also consume a good deal of the CO2 in order to produce the oxygen.

      But even if they had all that stuff JZS, their proximity to the sun would still likely make it too hot for human life to survive.

      I think you may be coming at this from the wrong perspective JZS. It’s not the abundance of CO2 that makes life there impossible, it’s the lack of life there that leads to the abundance of CO2. And it might be the extreme heat that is responsible for the lack of life.

      Which just goes to show perfectly GOD placed the earth in order to strike the exact balance of everything needed for his creations to survive and prosper.

      Any thoughts?

      BTW: Happy Walker Day

      Report Post » Therightsofbilly  
    • ZaphodsPlanet
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 1:09am

      Venesians will have to water their lawns a lot more often but BBQ can be made at such times just by sticking a steak on a stake out the front door.

      Obama 2117 for President of Venus!

      Report Post » ZaphodsPlanet  
    • Mother of JZS
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 2:12am

      Dagnabit you silly son of mine. when your uncle gets back im gonna tell him about you impersonanating him agan. he will kick your skinney but all the way to venus or uranis.

      now go to bed and turn off that stuped puter.

      Love,
      Your Mother

      Report Post » Mother of JZS  
    • PaxInVeritate
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 5:11am

      “… the answer is that nothing would happen. Nobody lives there. There is no life on Venus.”

      Humans have to live there for something to happen? And when MOTHER OF JZ places her hands over her eyes she disappears right in front of you too? Oh, and when no one is around and a tree falls in a forest it doesn’t make any sound. The world and verse (love Firefly/Serenity) exists whether they’re observed or not. In other words… Descartes was an idiot and a plague to western society and your reasoning on this sucks.

      Report Post » PaxInVeritate  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 1:08pm

      @jzs

      Hey JZS, thanks for getting my name correct for the first time. : )

      Report Post » The-Monk  
    • jzs
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 10:55pm

      PaxInVeritate you, my friend, are neither a metaphysician or an astronomer. Or you’re trolling. You don‘t like Descartes’ circular reasoning? Well, join that not so exclusive club. You do know he invented the Cartesian graph though don’t you? He was a remarkable intellect and no, he didn’t end Western Civilization, even Glenn hasn’t claimed that so far – he mostly focuses on Jewish people.

      You took a philosophy class didn’t you? You think?

      Report Post » jzs  
    • PaxInVeritate
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 3:03pm

      JZS… Yes, I’ve had 4 years of philosophy, in chronological order from Thales of Miletus to Martin Heidegger. I haven’t cracked my tomb of notes in 10 years, so I’m a bit rusty (don’t use it lose it axiom). I’m Thomistic in my philosophy. To boil it down, which is always a disservice, my disagreement with Descartes is not restricted to “Cogito, ergo sum”, but also his obsession with certitude of the knowable. Through that obsession, he brought about subjective truth/reality (through deconstruction of what is knowable to the mind and is culminated in the Hegelian philosophical tract), which wormed it’s way into modern/current societal thought. His philosophy is antagonistic towards to objective truth/reality, where the subjective is the only certain knowable truth and objective truth is inconsequential. In other words, under his philosophy, we become our own god in what we hold to be true/real. Thus your statement, “… the answer is that nothing would happen. Nobody lives there. There is no life on Venus.” and my response to your assertion. Reality is not reliant on observation. It exists on it’s own with or without us. Solar and geological occurrences happen on Venus without needing life to observe it.

      Report Post » PaxInVeritate  
    • PaxInVeritate
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 3:24pm

      Excuse me, reality is not reliant on observation, nor recognition by the mind.

      Report Post » PaxInVeritate  
  • PETTYDRAMA
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 7:31pm

    Beckbots,

    This is the sign! This is your last chance to catch your ship to Beck heaven to meet Becks father, Joseph Smith. One way tickets only. Sorry, only those that are easily hypnotized are allowed.

    Report Post » PETTYDRAMA  
    • MountainJac
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 7:41pm

      Oh really! I can’t wait, because being here with stupid people like you, really freaking sucks.

      Report Post »  
    • lukerw
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:09pm

      Venus… is the Morning Star & Evening Star… implied in the Bible to be… Lucifer (Isaiah) and an office of Christ (Revelations)…

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • Pheonix411
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:16pm

      I agree MOUNTAINJAC!

      Report Post » Pheonix411  
    • Dr Vel
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:06pm

      Everything on the planet is just another excuse for you to attack and demonize your fellow citizens with lies isn’t it. Becks true father is God Himself. Someday you too will meet Him but I promise you it will not be a day of happiness for you. The day is coming and nothing you can do will stop it. You still have time to repent of your miserable evil self but I get the feeling your hatred and arrogance will preclude this from occurring.

      Report Post »  
  • Southernsoul
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 6:44pm

    Wow, a small black dot moving across a large bright object. I think I’ll risk loosing my eye sight to view such an event.

    Report Post » Southernsoul  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 6:26pm

    “When it finally does appear, Venus will be visible in the form of a black disc, about 1/32 the diameter of the Sun.”

    Looks like Elizabeth Warren has something to do with this. : )

    Report Post » The-Monk  
    • Rohawk
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 6:57pm

      I hear she is trying to bill the sun for abusing its cabon credits but the notice keeps burning up before it gets there.

      Report Post »  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 8:33pm

      @Rohawk

      I was referring to the 1/32nd part. As in 1/32nd Indian…. : )

      Report Post » The-Monk  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 6:23pm

    Hey Tsunami-22,

    Are you around? Got some news for you.

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • AmericanPatriot01
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 6:12pm

    The Aztec/Mayan calendar uses this as a marker for the nearing of the end of the calendar. This proves that the calendar is on track and not out of sync as suggested by the nay sayers. There is an island in the pacific to which they built great monuments hundreds of years ago to mark this day. I will have to look up the significance again but I know it was a dire message in regards to the coming events expected to happen as told in their calendar.

    Report Post » AmericanPatriot01  
  • winterhead
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 5:43pm

    Is it me or is the top photo labeled wrong. North is on top as usual but west is on the right of north and east is to the left. Could someone please explain if I am wrong.

    Report Post »  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 6:17pm

      @winterhead

      All objects circling the Sun move in the same direction. If you look at the time line of the path of Venus you will see the the earlier time is on the East (labeled) side and the later time is on the West (labeled) side of the Sun. I don’t really know why East and West are reversed but the “time line” seems OK.

      BTW…. Great catch! I missed it and I usually don’t miss anything.

      Report Post » The-Monk  
  • MtrmnMike
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 5:12pm

    Took a peek with my 7×50s earlier. There are a few sunspots about the central area, so don’t confuse them with Venus itself, which will appear larger and circular, and start on the limb.

    Report Post »  
  • spfoam1
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 5:05pm

    When they discovered Bidens brain during a colonoscopy, the image looked just like that dark spot in the picture drifting across an empty void.

    Report Post »  
    • Bro Geo Too
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:27pm

      That’s pretty damn funny–thanks!

      Report Post »  
    • Bob350
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:01pm

      SPFOAM1 let me get this straight.
      You are saying that if Biden had a brain it would look just like this.
      I think that dark spot just might be a little too large!!

      Report Post »  
  • shogun459
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 4:28pm

    Portents anyone?

    Report Post » shogun459  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 4:23pm

    Damn, it’s raining where I live and the clouds will cover the sky all day.

    Guess I’m have to wait for 2117. : )

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • @leftfighter
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:36pm

    I’m looking forward to this! About three months ago, my son was learning about astronomy in his science class and we got to talking about astronomical events and how some of them are very common like sighting Jupiter, Mars, or Venus in the night sky, and how some people never get to see once-in-a-lifetime events like Halley‘s Comet because they didn’t live long enough.

    Technically, the short cycle of this is a twice-in-a-lifetime event, and the long cycle could be a never-in-a-lifetime event, since it happens twice in eight years, then doesn’t happen for 110 years.

    The odds against someone seeing this conjunction three or even four times in their life is astronomical. The time from the first transit of the last event to the second transit of this event is 116 years. The current three oldest verified people are 115 years old, and they had to be born at exactly the right time in history to be able to “see” (because as newborns, they wouldn’t have even known it was happening) it that early and this late in life.

    There will undoubtedly be major strides in medicine and presumably an increase to life span between now and then, but you’ve gotta figure the number of people alive for the 2004 transit who will be alive for the 2125 transit is infinitesimal.

    All that to say this: go get a couple of pairs of sunglasses and put them all on at the same time, go outside, look up, and enjoy. You’ll likely never see this again.

    Report Post » @leftfighter  
    • MtrmnMike
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 4:41pm

      “All that to say this: go get a couple of pairs of sunglasses and put them all on at the same time, go outside, look up, and enjoy. You’ll likely never see this again.”
      NO…NO…NO!! A few pair of sunglasses are NOT good enough! Also unacceptable: Using Exposed film and looking at the sun reflected on water. You need a solar filter mounted in front of the objective lens of the telescope/binoculars/camera, or sun-viewing glasses, or # 14 welder’s glass for SAFE viewing of the sun.
      That last statement you made is partially true…you’ll never see ANYTHING again ( if you use your method).

      Report Post »  
  • SuperSuineg
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:28pm

    i plain the live forever so i’ll just catch the next one..

    Report Post » SuperSuineg  
  • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:27pm

    I was hoping to find out when it happened last. I remember seeing a big spot on the sun, while riding the school bus in the 70′s. I showed my friends on the bus, but never heard what it was.

    Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
  • RedManBlueState
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 2:44pm

    Cloudy and rainy here. Figures.

    Report Post » RedManBlueState  
  • KangarooJack
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 2:26pm

    I’m lucky enough to have a Community where a local College is opening their Planetarium/Observatory to the Public for this Event. Pretty Cool! My family is excited-bringing some of the kid’s friends along too.

    I’ve put out news articles and memos at work for the past month. Heck-what an incredible event to witness with your kids and/or grandkids….we’ll all be dead before this happens again. Kinda makes it special doesn’t it?

    Report Post » KangarooJack  
    • KangarooJack
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:18pm

      cloudy, windy, and chilly here- that’s ok. The Planetarium has live internet feed set up for any clear location. Just excited to take the kids to witness this. :)

      Report Post » KangarooJack  
  • ChiefGeorge
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 2:07pm

    Actually the Bible does tell us that yes, their will be signs in the Sun, Moon and what? The Stars even. What man did through the help of Satan was to take what God used for signs and seasons and converted it into something revolving around man instead of a revealing to man what God was doing. First Fruits does not begin until the first sign of the new moon for example. Jesus Star over Bethelhem! Is Venus meant for something? Probably not!

    Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
    • Copo
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:21pm

      Of course the drought in my area ends now.

      Report Post » Copo  
  • Rohawk
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 1:47pm

    This explains the story I heard about how Clinton went blind trying to scope out this Venus lady.

    Report Post »  
  • pdw
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:49pm

    Funny how much hate can come from some people even when a solar event occurs. Hate always will block the brains thought process.

    Report Post »  
    • rickc34
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 5:23pm

      Agreed. Enjoy the moment life is short eternity is forever.

      Report Post »  
  • pap pap
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:35pm

    Heh Lindsay lookout now even the sun is trying to imitate Marilyn Monroe.

    Report Post »  
  • romadave
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:31pm

    What a horribly misleading first paragraph. This AP writer is an idiot.

    “Those in the Western Hemisphere on Tuesday will be able to watch Venus slowly crossing the face of the sun, while those in Eastern Hemisphere can view it on Wednesday”

    This sentence makes it sound like the event spans 24 hours or more and is visible during two days.

    The only reason it happens on Tuesday and Wednesday is that the event crosses the international date line, not because it lasts two days.

    For those viewing the event in California, it IS Tuesday, while for those in Australia it IS Wednesday, at the same time. The event is happening on two different days due to time zone differences.

    There are much better summaries of this event that make more sense. Try

    http://www.space.com/15541-venus-transit-sun-2012-guide-infographic.html

    Report Post »  
  • PETTYDRAMA
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:16pm

    The uneducated Beckbots will say its a sign from their sky god that the end is near…LOL!

    Report Post » PETTYDRAMA  
    • bhelmet
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:23pm

      No – the uneducated will say – “The uneducated Beckbots will say its a sign from their sky god that the end is near…LOL!”

      Report Post » bhelmet  
    • chazmo
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:55pm

      Cha Ching… more money for GB.. Thanks PettyDork…

      Report Post » chazmo  
    • MrButcher
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 1:08pm

      In defense of the religious so-called Beckbots,

      Most Christians don’t look for symbolism in the celestial paths of the planets. You are confusing theologies. If you wish to insult Christians, you should know what they believe first.

      Otherwise, you sound stupid.

      cheers

      Report Post » MrButcher  
    • @leftfighter
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 3:04pm

      What @MrButcher said.

      Actually, the religions that look for signs in the heavens vis-a-vis planetary allignments and conjunctions of stars, etc, are New Agers who vote en bloc for Dems.

      Not exactly the same group listening to Glenn.

      NEXT!

      Report Post » @leftfighter  
  • DoomsdayProphet
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 12:13pm

    cool ill be looking directly into the sun at sunset!

    Report Post »  
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