Whole Nation witnesses the rare celestial event when Venus  crossed the Sun’s face in a once-in-a-lifetime celestial phenomenon. Venus appeared as a small black dot on the Sun’s surface during its transit, one of the most eagerly-awaited celestial events.
In New Delhi
Public viewings of the rare occurrence, which will not happen again until 2117, were organised at the Nehru Planetarium with telescopes and solar filters put up at Teen Murti lawns in Chanakyapuri in the national capital.
“I was awestruck. It was a special moment that I will never forget in my life,” said Ramandeep Singh, a Class Nine student of Gyan Mandir Public School in west Delhi.
“I have watched several eclipses but this was beautiful. Knowing that it will not happen again till 2117 makes it all the more special,” said 18-year-old Geetika Suneja who aspires to be an astronaut.
Science Popularisation Association of Communicators & Educators (SPACE), an organisation working to spread awareness about astronomy, took 50 students to Shanghai, China, to observe the transit, where it was visible for the longest time.
According to scientists, transits of Venus occur only on very rare occasions when Venus and the Earth are in a line with the Sun. At other times, Venus passes below or above the Sun because the two orbits are at a slight angle to each other.
Transits occur in pairs separated by eight years, with the gap between pairs of transits alternating between 105.5 and 121.5 years – the last transit was in 2004.
In Kerala
The rare celestial phenomenon of Venus transiting the sun turned out to be a no-show in Kerala as the monsoon rains took centrestage, leaving hundreds of school children here disappointed.
The Priyadarshini Planetarium in the heart of the city was abuzz with activity as hundreds of school children turned up to witness the rare spectacle at 6.30 a.m. Their excitement, however, soon turned into disappointment because of the rain.
“We are really disappointed with what happened today (Wednesday). The rain played spoilsport,” said a disappointed student.
The transit of Venus is a rare eclipse, when the planet passes between the Earth and the Sun. The planet appears as a black spot gliding across the burning face of the sun.
“We saw Venus as a black spot on the telescope with rear projection screens,” added the student.
The next Venus transit will happen after 105.5 years in 2117.
The last transit of Venus occurred June 8, 2004 and was visible across India.
In Chennai
“Over 5,000 people might have come and gone after seeing the celestial event here since morning. We made arrangements for the people to view the event thorough different telescopes,” S. Soundarajaperumal, joint director, Birla Planetarium told IANS.
Special arrangements were made for the people to watch the transit of Venus as watching it with naked eyes is injurious.
“While the school students enjoyed watching the event, Madras University students are doing their research,” Soundarajaperumal said.
People were also keen in viewing the visible sun spots.
The next Venus transit is expected to happen after 117 years.