Transit of Venus: Vancouver Space Centre Event

The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre is preparing for a very special cosmic event next month, the Transit of Venus. This is where Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun, appearing as a dark shadow across the sun from our perspective, like a tiny eclipse.

Measuring Venus transit times to determine solar parallax. Credit: Vermeer, Duckysmokton, Ilia

These events are among the rarest astronomical phenomena to predict and they usually come in pairs, which are separated by a few years — then by over a hundred years. The last transit of Venus was in 2004 and after this year’s, we won’t see one again for another until the year 2117.

On June 5, 2012 you can visit the Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory (next to the Space Centre) at 2:45pm to witness this. In the event of rain, head indoors and watch the live feed inside the Space Centre of a clear-sky location in Hawaii. Admission is by donation, supporting programs at the Space Centre.

There is an official site for the Transit of Venus as well as a mobile app that you can download for Android or iPhone. Follow the H.R. MacMillian Space Centre on Twitter for more information.