| June 7, 2004 |
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Venus Transit 2004: Sun-Earth Day
Venus'  serene brilliance as seen from Earth's night sky belies her truly tempestuous and deadly surface. Yet the namesake of the fairest Roman goddess promises to stage a unique celestial beauty pageant come tomorrow. The transit of Venus is the most rare of all eclipses -- no one living today has witnessed it -- and has occurred only six times since the invention of the telescope. Satellites and observatories alike will fix their powerful gazes toward our twin planet as she gracefully makes her way between the Earth and the Sun. The entire passage will take six hours, and in that time, gazers will see a hint of the raging Venusian atmosphere reflected off its shadow. If you plan to watch, take care to practice safe viewing techniques. Even from afar, beauty of this magnitude can truly be blinding. (in Astronomy and Space) |
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