Transits - Astrophotography by Dave Kodama

Transits of the Inner Planets

Transits of the inner planets across the face of the sun are relatively rare compared to solar or lunar eclipses. If the orbits of Mercury, Venus, and Earth were in the same plane, each time the inner planets passed us, we would see a transit of the planet across the sun, with Mercury transits seen more often than Venus transits because it orbits the sun faster.

However, because the orbits of the inner planets are tilted relative to ours, we see a transit only when the inner planets are crossing our orbital plane. Transits of Venus are especially rare, with pairs of them happening more than a century apart, so they are worth making a special effort to see.

Transit of Mercury
15 November 1999

Venus Transit
8 June 2004

Recent and Upcoming Transits

Mercury		Venus
15 Nov. 1999 7 May 2003 8 Nov. 2006 9 May 2016 11 Nov. 2019 13 Nov. 2032		8 June 2004 6 June 2012 11 Dec. 2117 8 Dec. 2125