A Rare Event For Astronomers And Skywatchers

The annals of European astronomy burst with famous names: Copernicus, Kepler, Halley.

Jeremiah Horrocks? Not so famous.

But in 1639, the young Englishman became the first person known to witness one of the rarest events in the heavens: the passing of Venus across the face of the sun — a transit.

On Tuesday, Venus will again cross the sun, for just the sixth time since. It won’t do so again until 2117, making this the last transit of Venus for nearly everyone alive today.

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