Venus Transit on June 6, 2012

Venus transit  in 2004 (photo from the Internet)

Don't miss one of the rarest of planetary alignments in this century- the Venus Transit on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. This happens every 243 years with pairs of transits eight years apart. Only eight events have occurred since the invention of the telescope: 1631-1639, 1761-1769, 1874-1882 and 2004-June 26, 2012.

Wikipedia says that a Venus Transit takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During transit, it will be seen as a small black dot (left photo) moving across the face of the sun.  The transit in 2004 lasted six hours.

Well, we are quite lucky because this rare event is entirely visible in the Asia-Pacific region  (refer to chart below). According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical And Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), there are four named 'contacts' during a transit - this is, when the circumference of Venus touches the circumference of the sun at a single point. The contact points are (Manila time) at 6:09 am when Venus is outside the disk of the Sun;  6:27 am when Venus is entirely inside the disk of the Sun moving inward; 9:29a m when Venus is entirely inside the disk of the Sun, moving outward; 12:31pm when Venus is entirely outside the disk of the Sun, moving outward; and at 12:49 pm, the greatest transit, when Venus is at the middle of its path across the solar disk and marks the halfway point in the timing of the transit.

the entire transit is visible in Asia-Pacific (file from the Internet)

Venus is the dot (photo from internet)

There are several astrological interpretations of this astronomical event. Debra Campbell says "This alignment will force us to look within ourselves, and into each other’s hearts. The key really is about love, healing and most importantly, forgiveness of ourselves and others."  Cathy Lynn Pagano  notes that since "Venus is moving through the sign of Gemini, the Mind, we are being called upon to create a New Mind (Gemini Solar Eclipse), with new categories of belief (Sagittarius) and perception (Gemini), including a renewed knowledge of dreams, of unseen realities, and of out-of-the-box potentials of the human mind and heart."

Who knows what this alignment may bring? I sugest to write whatever you want to happen in 2012 onwards right now and reflect. It's like a wish list but be very clear what it is that you want.

countdown of Venus transit on slooh.com

To those who will be out there to watch the transit, PAGASA warns that "observing the Sun directly without filters can cause a temporary or permanent loss of visual function, as it can damage or destroy retinal cells." So please do NOT wear your sunglasses! Protect yourself by using special solar eclipse glasses or a welder's glasses (#14 or darker), peer through a pinhole projector or telescope, or better yet, watch early during the ingress at 6 am until 7-ish,  then from 9am onwards, watch the live webcast of slooh online.