Liked the Solar Eclipse? You'll Love the Venus Transit

Skygazers who watched the recent solar eclipse should get their safety goggles ready for a celestial event that won't occur again for 105 years.

On Tuesday, the second planet in our solar system will crawl across the surface of the sun making an epic journey called the Transit of Venus.

If you miss this event, you'll never get a chance to see it. The next Venus Transit won't occur until Dec. 11, 2117. Or so says NASA, which has calculated the next 2,000 years worth of transits for anyone who wants to put the events into their day planner.

Sky & Telescope Magazine says the Venus Transit will be visible on the East Coast from 6:04 to 6:21 pm on Tuesday, June 5. In Michigan, you'll be able to see the first half Tuesday evening and AstroMichigan has a list of viewing spots around Metro Detroit, including:

• Wayne State University physics building (6 p.m.)
• University of Michigan Dearnborn Observatory (5:30 p.m.)
• Kensington MetroPark boatlaunch (5 p.m.)

According to the National Weather Service, the weather Tuesday evening should be clear, with the skies becoming partly cloudy overnight. Bring a jacket just in case; while the high Tuesday will be 73 degrees, lows will dip down to 52 overnight.

What is the Venus Transit?

The Venus Transit is an odd duck, even by astronomical standards.

As NASA explains, the event follows a pattern: two transits occur within eight years of one another. Then there's a long break. This has to do with factors such as the length of a year on Venus (224.701 days) and Earth (365.256 days).

The most recent Venus Transit occurred on June 8, 2004. French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat made a time-lapse video of that event and posted it on YouTube (attached to this Article).