On June 5, 2012 at sunset on the East Coast of North America and earlier for other parts of the U.S., the planet Venus made its final trek across the face of the sun as seen from Earth until the year 2117. The last time this event occurred was on June 8, 2004 when it was watched by millions of people across the world. Get prepared for this once in a lifetime event!
For over 100 years the main quest of astronomers was to pin down the distance between Earth and Sun (the Astronomical Unit), which would give them a key to the size of the solar system. Careful studies of the transit of Venus became the gold mine they would harvest to reveal this measure.
On June 5, 2012, we will air a live 'remote' webcast from a mountainside Visitors Station site near the observatories in Hilo, Hawaii. This location will give a wonderful view of the entire transit with little chance of cloud cover to a worldwide audience.
You can experience the transit of Venus safely, but it is vital that you protect your eyes at all times with the proper solar filters.
Let Sun-Earth Day help you prepare for the Transit of Venus through a new series of videos hosted on our YouTube Channel.
