Mangalore: A tiny black mole can be spotted on the Sun at dawn on June 6, Wednesday. However this is no ordinary black spot, but the presence of Venus. This rare celestial event Venus Transit will take place when Venus passes through the front of the Sun on this day.
Such a rare celestial event takes place once in around 120 years. In Mangalore it can be visible from sunrise to 10.19 am.
Transit of Venus is among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomenon and currently occurs in a pattern that repeats after every 243 years. The transit takes place in pairs, which are 8 years away from each other and separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years – a pattern which repeats after 243 years. The next transit would take place in 105 years later i.e. in 2117.
The Amateur Astronomers’ Association of Mangalore is making arrangements for the public to view this rare phenomenon at the campus of St Agnes institutions, Bendore. Those interested can visit the campus between 6 am and 10 am on June 6.