The once in a lifetime celestial event, the transit of Venus, occurred on June 6 and was viewed by many in India as well. Special arrangements were made for people to watch at many places as watching it with naked eyes is injurious.
S. Soundarajaperumal, the joint director of Birla Planetarium said, “Over 5,000 people might have come and gone after seeing the celestial event in Chennai since morning. We made arrangements for the people to view the event thorough different telescopes”. The official added that even the school students enjoyed watching the event, while the Madras University students are doing their research.
The transit of Venus is the passage of the planet between the sun and the Earth. This happens only once in 117 years. The planet made a slow transit across the face of the sun on Wednesday.
The transits of Venus happen in pairs, eight years apart, with more than a century between the cycles. During the event, the Venus takes a form of a small dot while slowly shifting in the northern hemisphere of the sun. Many of the astronomers watched the six hour and 40 minute long transit on the internet as several websites offered the live telecast.
