Venus Transit (June 8th 2004)
The Transit of Venus is a rare astronomical phenomenon in which the planet Venus passes across the face of the Sun. First observed by two English astronomers in 1639, it occurred only four more times before the current pair in 2004 and 2012 During a transit, the small black dot of Venus crosses the sun’s disc. The exact timing and length of its path depends on the position of an observer on earth. The previous transit of Venus occurred on December 6, 1882 -one of merely five events of its kind ever watched by mankind.
						Past and Future Transits 1631 December 7 1639 December 4 1761 June 6 1769 June 3 1874 December 9 1882 December 6 2004 June 8 2012 June 6 2117 December 11 2125 December 8
				"Near 3rd Contact!" Above, the 2004 Venus Transit taken afocally through a Celestron C8 with a 40mm eyepiece and solar filter.  Taken by Dave Gallant from Charsleston College.
Area             Prov.        Longitude    Latitude        Sunrise             Contact 3           Contact 4 Sudbury         (ON)       46°28' N        81°00' W          5:29               7:04:57 (13°)     7:25:00 (17°) Winnipeg        (MB)      49°53' N        97°09' W         5:19                6:03:56  (5°)      6:24:05   (8°) Thunder Bay   (ON)      48°29' N        89°13' W          5:23