The transit of Venus refers to Venus crossing between the Earth and the sun, making it visible as a small black disk against the sun. Perhaps, the safest and surest way to watch the transit of Venus in real time is to use the live Internet video feeds provided by NASA. NASA will simulcast the event as seen from Huntsville, Ala., on Tuesday beginning shortly before 5:30 p.m. EDT. Here are some interesting facts and figures about the transit of Venus, by the numbers:
6:09 p.m. EDT: Start time for the transit, according to NASA.
7: Hours for the approximate duration of Venus directly between Earth and the sun and visible in silhouette against the sun.
8: Years since the last transit of Venus. Transits occur in pairs separated by eight years with more than 100 years between reoccurrence of the next pair.
105, 7: Years and months before the next transit of Venus.
1/30: Ratio of the apparent size of Venus' silhouette against the sun.
117: Earth days for one day on Venus, according to Windows2the Universe.org.
225: Earth days for one year on Venus.
25 million:
Miles between Earth and Venus at its closest approach.67 million: Miles between Venus and the sun at its closest approach.
855: Degrees is the average temperature of Venus.
Zero: Moons possessed by Venus.