The Transit of Venus pertains to the spectacular astronomical event when Venus takes a position between the Earth and the sun, thus, it will look like a small dot moving across the face of the sun.

You will find below a list of websites that will present webcasts covering the grand cosmic event.

The timing of the transit of Venus this year is preceded by two other fascinating cosmic events: the solar eclipse last month and the partial lunar eclipse Monday night.

According to the National Geographic, only six Venus transits have been observed since the invention of telescope over four centuries ago. The event happens in an eight-year-apart tandem, with each tandem about a hundred years apart.

The transit may not look as awesome as the "Ring of Fire" from the recent solar eclipse, but a small dot showing movement across the sun is still a grand cosmic event. For one, only two planets - Mercury and Venus - can be found between the sun and Earth. (Earth comes third to Mercury and Venus in terms of distance from the sun.)

Second, such transits rarely happen. The last Venus transit took place in June 2004 (the first pair of this century's tandem), and the next transit tandem will be in December 2117 and December 2125.

Transit of Venus 2012

This year, Venus' transit will begin at 22:09 UTC on 5 June 2012, which is 08:09 am on June 6, Wednesday in the Australian capital. The transit will be completed within six hours.

The transit will be visible in many parts of the world, including eastern Australia (New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria) and New Zealand.

NASA's figure in the slideshow above illustrates the parts of the Earth where the transit would be visible.

Safe Way to Observe the Transit

To protect your sight while watching the transit of Venus, you may project the image of the sun onto a screen through a telescope. However, you must keep in mind that the image of Venus will be very small in contrast to the sun.

Scientists warn against looking straight into the sun without taking safety measures, because it can result in the damaging of retinal cells, which may lead to temporary or permanent blindness.

Watch Venus Transit Online in Webcasts from Around the World

Various agencies across the globe have prepared for the grand Venus transit, with NASA streaming the transit in a live webcast from Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

If you want a view from Israel, you can also watch a live webcast from the country's Bareket Observatory.

From Kwasan Observatory in Japan, a webcast will be streamed here. From India, the Sky Watchers Association of North Bengal will stream the transit here. For the view from Norway, the department of Astronomy and Meteorology at the University of Barcelona will stream the transit here from the Arctic Svalbard archipelago in the northern part of the European country.

There are many choices depending on your time zone. Just remember the time of the transit starts at 22:09 UTC on 5 June 2012. To check the timezone in different countries mentioned above, click here.

NASA Israel Japan Australia