Passage of Venus on June 6th

Astronomers are looking forward to a very rare event in the early morning hours of June 06th: a passage of Venus. Observation opportunities will be excellent in northern Scandinavia and in Spitsbergen. Every 130 years there are 2 transits of Venus with a few years between them. The last one was in 2004. The current one will be the last chance to observe such an event until December 2117.

You wouldn’t see if if you didn’t kow about it, but it is a very important and spectacular moment for astronomers. Historically, transits of Venus were very important for science, as the simultaneous observation of a transit from different places on Earth allowed, for example, the distance to the sun to be calculated.

If you want to see something, you will need – next to good weather – at least binocular and sufficient eye protection. If you try to observe it withour proper eye protection, you risk to lose your eyesight immediately and permanently!