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Venus is the third celestial show to grace the sky in less than a month. Just a day earlier, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible from western North America, South America, Australia and eastern Asia. And there was the much-hyped "ring of fire" solar eclipse on May 20. Unlike eclipses, Venus transits are truly rare. They come in pairs, separated by more than 100 years. The last one occurred in 2004 and next pair in 2117 and 2125. Since the German astronomer Johannes Kepler first predicted it in the 17th century, only six have been observed. The upcoming one will be the seventh. Only two people were said to have seen the transit of 1639. The 1882 transit was a bigger deal
-- people jammed the sidewalks of New York City and paid 10 cents to peek through a telescope. John Philip Sousa even composed a score called "Transit of Venus March." The one in 2004 was viewed by millions -- in person and online. University of Alabama astronomer William Keel was determined not to miss the 2004 transit, the first one in 122 years. But he only caught 45 minutes of the action before clouds rolled in. This time, he plans to set up telescopes on the roof and hopes for clear skies. The early Venus viewings were a big deal to scientists who used the alignment to measure the size of our solar system. The technique is still used today to search for alien worlds outside our solar system. ___ Online: Transit details:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html
[Associated
Press;
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