A transit of Venus across the Sun took place today 6/6/2012 when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus was seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun.  began at 22:09 UTC on 5 June 2012, and will finish at 04:49 UTC on 6 June.

The transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon. While the diameter of Venus is more than 3 times that of the Moon, Venus appears smaller, and travels more slowly across the face of the Sun, because it is much farther away from Earth.

SDO’s Ultra-high Definition View of 2012 Venus Transit – 171 Angstrom

SDO’s Ultra-high Definition View of 2012 Venus Transit – 171 Angstrom

SDO’s Ultra-high Definition View of 2012 Venus Transit – 304 Angstrom

SDO’s Ultra-high Definition View of 2012 Venus Transit – 304 Angstrom

NASA image captured June 5, 2012 at

On June 5-6 2012, SDO collected images of the rarest predictable solar event–the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart which are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/sets/72157629955754198/