Venus Transit Special

Venus Transit by NASA SDO

Early this morning Venus' crossing of the sun (Venus Transit) was visible from the UK. Now I know this is not quite about books, but bear with me.

When I was 4 years old my family had an evening barbecue. The atmosphere was electric. All the grown-ups were looking at the sky and talking about Halley's Comet. I have very few early memories from my childhood but this is one of them. The next time Halley's Comet comes by I will be 79 and, hopefully, I'll do the same with my grandchildren, who unlike my daughter, might be blessed to see it twice in their lifetime like me. 

Staying up last night and watching the live feed of Venus Transit brought back all sorts of memories for me so I thought I should share some of the images I came across. Absolutely mind blowing stuff. And if you are in Lancashire you will understand what I mean when I say the sky here, when the clouds give us a break, is absolutely beautiful!

NASA SDO satellite has taken the best footage and pictures of Venus Transit and these are the picture and video you will see here. Amazing stuff! This crossing happens in pairs eight years apart at regular intervals of 105 to 121 years. It last happened in 2004 and it will only happen again in 2117. Talk about  putting things into perspective!

If you are into astronomy, or just looking up and gazing at the stars like me, here are some dates for you calendar:

13th November 2012 - Partial Solar Eclipse visible from the UK

2016 - Mercury Transit

2017 - Full Solar Eclipse visible from North America

28th July 2061 - Halley's Comet visit

23rd Sep 2090 - next Full Solar Eclipse visible from the UK

Now, not to lose the book connection... If you are into aliens, you might want to read I'm Number Four by Pittacus Lore (read book review here) or Patrick Patterson and the World of Others by James Frayer (review here). If you're into space travel and space pirates then try Typhoon by MCM (book review here). Or you can try my all-time favourite alien adventure: The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (read review here).  

Original Source for Venus Transit picture and video: International Business Times