BANGKOK, 11 May 2012 – According to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), a rare planetary event, the transit of Venus, is due to occur on June 6 this year. The next transit is expected 122 years from now.
NARIT’s Director, Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, said that on June 6, the planet Venus will pass directly between the Sun and the Earth from 8.32AM to 11AM, becoming visible against the solar disk. The event can be viewed from most corners of the globe, except for West Africa and the West coast of South America.
The last visible transit of Venus took place on June 8, 2004. Sequences of transits occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with transits occurring eight years apart followed by a gap of 122 years, then a gap of eight years and then another long gap of 106 years. Nobody can witness the event no more than twice in his lifetime.
Mr Boonrucksar added that the transit, similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon, can be observed with the naked eye using filters designed specifically for the purpose such as eclipse-viewing glasses.
(NNT : Orapa Chueyprasit)