Venus Transit: One of the most important astronomical events of this Century

One of the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomenon occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday (5 & 6 June 2012) when Venus passed directly between the Sun and Earth, a transit that will not occur again until the year 2117.

The skies were a bit cloudy initially but several brief breaks in the clouds allowed for some stunning Venus transit views.

The transit of 2012 lasted approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes. Starting at 3:39 A.M IST it was widely visible around the globe. Some countries saw the transit on Tuesday, while others saw it on Wednesday morning (due to Earth's rotation on its axis).

Due to the planet's (Venus) tilted orbit, Venus transits are so rare that only eight have been observed since the invention of the telescope more than 400 years ago. This particular Venus transit was the last transit of the 21st century; the prior transit took place on 8th June 2004. The previous pair of transits was in December 1874 and December 1882. The next transits of Venus will be in December, 10th & 11th 2117 and in December 2125.

Children & parents wait in line to view the 2012 Venus transit 

Our Zlife Education Astronomy team organized the event at Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar and at Camp Mustang (20 kms from Gurgaon) on 6th June 2012. Astronomy enthusiast kids along with their curious parents joined in the event, to view the last Venus Transit of this century, an event of which they can be sure will not be witnessed again in our lifetimes since the next one will happen only after 105.5 years.

Camp Mustang

Astronomy enthusiasts gathered around to view the transit of Venus, an event that will not occur again in our lifetimes

The event started at sunrise approx 5:23 A.M and lasted till 10:19 A.M. Initially there was a lot of disappointment as the sky was a bit cloudy, with only brief moments when it would be clear. However by 8:00 A.M the sky was completely clear to view the remaining transit without hassles.

Students at Ahlcon International School

Parents as enthusiastic as kids to view the transit

In the end we had a bunch of happily satisfied curious minds who witnessed a significant astronomical event.

Were you able to view the Venus Transit? Let us know in the comments. 
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