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Credit & Copyright: Ronald F. Dantowitz
(The Clay Center)
Explanation:
Today an astronomical event will occur that no living person has ever seen:
Venus will cross directly in front of the Sun.
A Venus crossing, called a transit, last occurred in 1882 and was
front-page
news
around the world.
Today's transit will be visible in its entirety throughout
Europe and most of Asia and Africa.
The northeastern half of
North America will see the Sun rise with the
dark dot of Venus already superposed.
Never look directly at the Sun, even when
Venus is in front.
Mercury's closer proximity to the Sun cause it to transit every few years.
In fact, the above image mosaic of Mercury
crossing the Sun is from
two
transits
ago, in November 1999.
Will anyone living see the next Venus transit? Surely yes since it occurs in 2012.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day