What date did Venus transit the Sun in 2012?

June 5-6, 2012
On June 5-6, 2012, Venus passed in front of the Sun. This phenomenon will not occur for more than 100 years. The black spot is Venus passing the Sun. During the transit in 2012, Venus was visible from Earth as a small dot against the Sun’s disk.

When did Venus last cross the Sun?

The last transit of Venus was on 5 and 6 June 2012, and was the last Venus transit of the 21st century; the prior transit took place on 8 June 2004. The previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882. The next transits of Venus will take place on 10–11 December 2117 and 8 December 2125.

How rare are Venus transits?

Transits of Venus are so rare because the planet’s orbit is tilted just over three degrees from the plane of the solar system. This means that most of the time Venus passes above or below the sun’s disk, as seen from Earth. On average, we see four transits of Venus within 243 years.

How often does Venus cross the Sun?

every 243 years
A rare celestial sight Since the tilt of Venus’ orbit isn’t exactly the same as that of Earth, the events are rare, occurring just four times every 243 years. The transits occur in pairs eight years apart.

How long does Venus face the Sun?

Venus orbits the Sun every 224.7 Earth days. It has a synodic day length of 117 Earth days and a sidereal rotation period of 243 Earth days. As a consequence, it takes longer to rotate about its axis than any other planet in the Solar System, and does so in the opposite direction to all but Uranus.

How long does Venus face the sun?

Can Venus cause an eclipse on Earth?

Venus. Like Mercury, Venus periodically transits the face of the sun to create a tiny eclipse on Earth. These transits occur much less frequently than on Mercury, only twice every century. In the 21st century, these transits occurred on June 8, 2004, and June 6, 2012.

Is Venus in front of the sun?

The sun is not a planet, but if it was it would probably be your favorite. Just look at this incredible image that NASA released recently. What you’re seeing is a strange solar eclipse, in which Venus passed in front of the sun. The tiny black dot on the top lefthand side is Venus.

When was the last time Venus crossed the Sun?

The transits occur in pairs eight years apart. Since the June 5 transit followed a previous Venus sun crossing in 2004, this is the last one of the current cycle. Venus and Mercury are the only planets that can be seen crossing the sun from Earth since their orbits are between our planet and the sun.

Why was there a transit of Venus in 2012?

Unlike the 2004 Venus transit, the 2012 transit occurred during an active phase of the 11-year activity cycle of the Sun, and would have provided practice in detecting a planet’s signal around a “spotty” variable star. Measurement of the apparent diameter of Venus during the transit, and comparison with its known diameter.

How often does Venus pass in front of the Sun?

Since the tilt of Venus’ orbit isn’t exactly the same as that of Earth, the events are rare, occurring just four times every 243 years. Skywatcher Tim McCord caught the Venus transit on June 5, 2012, in Entiat, WA. (Image credit: Tim McCord) The transits occur in pairs eight years apart.

Are there any transits of Venus in pairs?

Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable celestial phenomena and occur in pairs.