Don’t miss rare Venus transit — but be careful

Stargazers have been preparing for a rare celestial event on Wednesday when Venus, the second planet from the Sun in the solar system, will transit. The event, in which the planet will appear as a tiny black dot on the Sun, will next happen in the year 2117, astronomers said. The spectacle has created a stir among UAE astronomers, who said the transition is similar to a solar eclipse and can only be viewed with special equipment including solar filters and purpose-made glasses. “It would be highly dangerous to view it with the naked eye or ordinary binoculars or telescope,” said Adil Hassan from Al Ain. It could cause severe damage to human eye, he added. Hassan said the transition will last several hours when the small black disc of Venus will travel slowly across the face of the Sun. The event will be visible across the Middle East and in other parts of the world. Hassan emphasised how rare the event is by noting that only two planetary transitions — those of Mercury and Venus — can be viewed from earth. The Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) has been making special viewing arrangements in the main plaza of the American University of Sharjah, where its members will be on Wednesday between 5.30am and 8.30am. Those who want to watch from home can purchase special eclipse glasses from DAG for Dh10. The group is encouraging people not to miss out on such a rare opportunity. Venus. also called the sister plant of Earth for its similar size, orbits the Sun every 225 Earth days. Astronomers say transitions of Venus occur in pairs. The first of the current pair occurred in 2004. Venus transitions have been plotted back as far as 2000BC and forward to the year 4000 by scientists. During that 6,000 year period, they say the event happens 81 times. The catalogue is available online at: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/catalog/VenusCatalog.html