Venus transited the face of the Sun on June 5, as viewed from Earth, in a very rare astronomical event. A transit of Venus occurs when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, according to TransitOfVenus.org.
The BBC said earlier on June 5 that Venus would appear as a tiny black dot moving against the Sun, but warned that viewers shouldn't look directly at it as this can cause serious injury and even blindness.
The journey of Venus across the Sun will take more than six and a half hours, starting at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, June 5, and ending at around 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) on Wednesday, June 6, according to Space.com.
The 2012 transit of Venus was visible from the northwest United States, the Pacific and East Asia. It could also be visible from other places on Earth, depending on weather, the BBC said.
The alignment of Venus, the Earth and the Sun comes in pairs that are eight years apart but separated by more than a century. Venus transits will occur four times over the course of about 243 years. The last transit took place in 2004, making this one the second in a pair.
The astronomical event was observed at Abastumani Observatory in Georgia.
