Don't Miss Once in a Lifetime 2012 'Transit of Venus' Today

Lloyd Peterson is going to be at it again today at in Lakeville; a lawn chair, binoculars, telescope, a cooler full of Coke Zero, and an eye to the sky.

The occasion? Something that's only happened 53 times since 2,000 B.C. ... the Transit of Venus.

At around 5 p.m., on Tuesday, June 5, the planet of Venus will cross the sun and be visible as a black dot drifting across the sun until it sets, sometime around 8:30 p.m.

For Peterson, 64, a and all people not planning to live until December 2117, this Transit of Venus is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"It's amazing if you think about it," Peterson said. "It's something that won't happen again in our lifetime. Think about that. It's an amazingly unique opportunity to witness something special."

Don't have your own telescope? Want to view the Transit through something more sophisticated? Just west of the Twin Cities is the Onan Observatory at Baylor Regional Park in Noorwood Young America. The observatory is free to visit, but a parking pass is required to enter the park. The observatory will open at 4 p.m. and the Transit of Venus will beginning shortly after 5 p.m. The facility has a number of telescopes and volunteers on hand to help folks watch the event.

NASA will also be broadcasting the event live from Hawaii.

According to NASA, such transits come in pairs every 120 years, with the pair spaced eight years apart. In 2004, the first Transit of Venus was not visible in Minnesota.

The transit, first recorded by English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks in 1639, has also been observed by Captain James Cook in 1769. Cook gathered transit data from various locations around the world that used to calculate the distance between Earth and the sun and the size of the solar system.

"Prominent astronomers in the past used Venus Transits as a means to measure the Astronomical Unit, a holy grail for astronomy in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries," NASA's website said.
 
Today, transit events are used to detect planets beyond the solar system. measures the change in brightness from distant stars when a planet passes in front of the star. Kepler has confirmed 61 planets and more than 2,300 planet candidates using the transit technique.
 
The NASA Ames Exploration Center is the large white dome located at the main gate of NASA's Ames Research Center. To reach NASA Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the Moffett Field, NASA Parkway exit and drive east on Moffett Boulevard towards the main gate and bear right into the parking lot.

For more information about the worldwide events, safety precautions for viewing, educational content and social media activities, visit:
http://venustransit.nasa.gov

The public can follow the event on Twitter on #VenusTransit and download a free mobile app at: http://venustransit.nasa.gov/2012/multimedia/apps.php