Spot on...Venus passes the sun
STARGAZERS who woke early yesterday were rewarded with this spectacular sight – one of the rarest astronomical phenomenons.
Millions of Britons saw the remarkable moment when Venus passed directly between the sun and Earth, an event that will not happen again for another 105 years.
As this high definition image from US space agency Nasa shows, Venus appeared as a small, dark spot moving across the face of the burning sun, rather like a fly walking across a TV screen.
The spectacle was first captured by Salford astronomer William Crabtree from his bedroom window in 1639.
It proved that planets orbit the sun and not the Earth.
The Venus transit happens in pairs eight years apart – the last was in 2004 – but with more than a century between cycles.