Venus will cross the face of the sun for the last time until 2117. Here's what it will look like.<\/p>\n
Today's historic Venus transit is a marathon event lasting nearly seven hours, but skywatchers who don't have that kind of time can break it down into a handful of key milestones. <\/p>\n
Venus treks across the sun's face from Earth's perspective today (June 5; June 6 in much of the Eastern Hemisphere), marking the last suchVenus transituntil 2117. Few people alive today will be around to see the next transit, which makes the rare celestial sight a premier event in the astronomical and skywatching communities. <\/p>\n
The Venus-sun show will begin around 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) and end at roughly 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) Wednesday, with the exact timing varying by a few minutes from point to point around the globe. <\/p>\n
Before you even attempt to observe the transit of Venus, a warning:NEVERstare at the sun through binoculars orsmall telescopesor with the unaided eye without the proper safety equipment. Doing so can result in serious and permanent eye damage, including blindness. <\/p>\n
Astronomers use special solar filters on telescopes to view the sun safely, while No. 14 welder's glass and eclipse glasses can be used to observe the sun directly. [How to Safely Photograph the Venus Transit] <\/p>\n
With that warning stated, here's a look at the first major stage of thetransit of Venus. <\/p>\n
The transit officially commences when the leading edge ofVenusfirst touches the solar disk, an event astronomers call \"Contact I\" or \"ingress exterior.\" This milestone occurs at 6:03 p.m. EDT (2203 GMT) for observers in eastern North America, while skywatchers on the other side of the continent will see it a few minutes later, at 3:06 p.m. PDT. <\/p>\n
Next up is \"Contact II,\" or \"ingress interior\" the moment when Venus moves fully onto the sun's face. This will happen 18 minutes after Contact I. [Venus Transit of 2004: 51 Amazing Photos] <\/p>\n
If you're viewing the transit through a good telescope, you may see a dark teardrop form, briefly joining Venus' trailing edge and the solar disk just before Contact II. This so-called \"black-drop effect\" bedeviled efforts in 1761 and 1769 tomeasure the Earth-sun distanceby precisely timing Venus transits from many spots around the globe. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read more from the original source: <\/p>\n
Transit of Venus: What to expect (+video)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Venus will cross the face of the sun for the last time until 2117. Here's what it will look like. Today's historic Venus transit is a marathon event lasting nearly seven hours, but skywatchers who don't have that kind of time can break it down into a handful of key milestones. Continue reading