May 312012
 
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Next week the last transit of Venus – when the Earth, sun, and Venus all align and Venus appears as a black circle moving across the surface of the sun – of what is likely our lifetimes will take place on June 5th.  The next one will happen in 2117 – which, unless there are significant medical advances – most of us probably will not be around for.  Matter of Cents and I thought it would be fun to share this twice-in-a-lifetime (the way the orbit works they happen in pairs 8 years apart; the last one was in 2004) event with you as part of our Pin Me! series.

Here is a photo of what the transit looks like:

Venus Transit

And here is what the proposed path of the transit looks like against the sun.

Transit of Venus Path

Can you believe that people were tracking this kind of thing all the way back in the 1500s?  Here is the ‘Venus’ Tablet of King Ammizaduga – the little dots in the tablet represent Venus.

'Venus' Tablet of King Ammizaduga

The Hubble Telescope will be taking images of it (as reflected in the moon, I believe).  I can’t wait to see those images.  The Hubble always takes such cool ones, like the two below:

Grand Star-Forming Region

Hubble Views Grand Star-Forming Region

The Pillars of Creation

Hubble Visible-light View of the Pillars of Creation

Will you be watching the transit next week?  I know my father will be; he used to wake me up in the middle of the night to see meteor showers or other cool space phenomenon.

Do you have any favorite Venus or space pins you’d like to share?  Please feel free to link up below.  We’d love you to either link to our posts (here and here) or use the linky code below so that everyone can find the other posts.  Thanks!

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About Liza

Liza is a mom (5-year-old daughter, 20-year-old stepson, and 24-year-old stepdaughter) and wife living in Louisville. She loves spending time with her family, visiting the local zoo and parks, as well as planning travel adventures. Cooking and baking, DIY projects and crafts, and coffee - lots and lots of coffee - round out some of her other hobbies.

  3 Responses to “Last Venus Transit Of Our Lifetimes Is Almost Here!”

  1. […] Pinterest When creating your own Pin Me! post, please include a link to both hosts' posts (here and here). If you'd also like to include our button, we would really appreciate it.If you would […]

  2. My husband loves this stuff! He has a telescope passed down from his dad and he’s always talking about taking a trip out of town so he can use it.

  3. The world around and above us, never ceases to amaze me…
    Our family watches meteor showers a lot on our back deck!
    This Last Venus Transit until 2117, is another space phenomenon
    that our my husband, myself and our children will be enjoying together…
    Many thanks…Cindi

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