Venus Transit

Venus Transit

UPDATE: EAST LANSING - There are times when we are so focused about the world around us that we sometimes forget that there is a whole universe out there beyond the skies, where incredible things happen. This was the case on June 5th, where Earth fell witness to a rare event where we were able to watch Venus pass in front of the sun.

"So that means it's going to pass in front of the sun. So it's a pretty rare alignment. The planet Venus orbits inside the orbit of the Earth and every once in a awhile we will see the silhouette of Venus right in front of the sun. It takes about 6 hours to cross in front of the sun and so that crossing of the sun that we see is known as the crossing of the sun." Says John French, the Production Coordinator at Abrams Planetarium.

Transits come in pairs, the last one in 2004, so there won't be another seen for 100 years

People were invited to watch the transit from the roof of the Parking ramp located behind Abrams Planetarium, but like an eclipse you don't want to look directly into it for risk of damaging your eyes. Special Telescopes and glasses were offered to watch safely.

There is something else to look forward to in the sky in the not so far off future.

"There is a solar eclipse coming up in 5 years, which will be the first total eclipse we've had in the United States that we've had in a long time, so in 2017 plan on seeing the total eclipse of the sun."

ORIGINAL STORY: EAST LANSING - Last week Michigan, and the rest of the world witnessed a rare phenomenon in the sky.

Additional Resources

Meridian Weather