Venus Transit 2012 Live Stream From NASA

Venus Transit 2012 Live Streaming

A Venus transit, which occurs when Planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, is happening, today. The rare spectacle will not happen again in 105 years.

The transits of Venus occur in pairs with more than a century separating each pair. Since the invention of the telescope, there have been only eight of such events that have occurred - 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, 2004 and the upcoming one this June 2012. The 2004 and 2012 transits form a contemporary pair separated by 8 years. The next two transits of Venus will occur on 2117 and 2125.

Today's Venus Transit will be visible in Greenland, North and Central America, Pacific Is., Australasia, Asia (including the Philippines), E. Africa and most of Europe. It will start at 22:09 UTC on June 5th until 04:49 UTC on June 6th. 

NASA is giving us an opportunity to see the historic astronomical event in the comfort of our own homes through their webcast. Hosting the live stream are NASA scientists who will be giving valuable information about the Transit of Venus.

Check out NASA's Venus Transit 2012 live stream below:


If you plan to watch the Transit outside, you must bear the following in mind:

One should take precautions in watching the Sun during these hours as staring at it without precaution can damage one's retina. The safest manner is to project the image of the Sun through pinholes, telescopes or binoculars onto a screen or by using a filter to shield the naked eye.