The passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun is a rare astronomical phenomenon, which not even every generation can sometimes see. It is thanks to one of these passages that the Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov discovered the presence of an atmosphere on this planet. You can try to make your discoveries in 2012, but you need to remember that in the XXI century the inhabitants of the Earth will no longer have such an opportunity.
In 2012, the inhabitants of the Earth for the last time in the current century will be able to witness a rare astronomical phenomenon - the transit of Venus. The very word "transit" in astronomy means a point in time during which one celestial body passes in front of another celestial body. Of course, transit is a relative concept and exists only for a conditional observer from a specific point. On June 6, 2012 (June 5 in the Eastern Hemisphere), such observers, and far from arbitrary, will be the majority of the world's population.
In Russia, Venus against the background of the Sun will be able to see all the inhabitants of the western part of the country and even a little beyond the Urals - right up to the Altai Republic. At sunrise, it will become visible how the planet moves from top to bottom and from left to right along the solar disk. Partial transit phenomena in the presence of optical instruments can be seen in far Siberia, however, the conditional Venus motion curve for earthlings will shift ever farther toward Australia. Detailed maps and graphs of the movement of Venus relative to the earth's surface can already be found on a number of resources. However, with a little knowledge of English, you can also use the primary source - the site of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa.gov)
The transit of Venus is not only an amazing and rare phenomenon, but also a dangerous one. It's all about the sun itself, a direct look at which can damage the lens of the eye. It is impossible to observe the transit of Venus with the naked eye, in the absence of telescopes and binoculars with a special light protection filter, it is best to observe this astronomical phenomenon through the glass of the welder’s shield, the flexible disk of a disassembled diskette, project the image of the Sun through a small hole on the screen located behind it, and so on - the rules exactly the same as during a solar eclipse.
The last time the transit of Venus earthlings could observe only eight years ago, and, at about the same time - June 8th. But the next passage of Venus through the disk of the Sun, the living inhabitants of the planet, most likely, will not see, because it will take place in 2117.
