Transit of Venus 2012
Venus in front of the Midnight Sun on June 6th
 Every now and then we experience a Solar Eclipse, when the Moon is passing and covering the Sun.
An infrequent celestial moment occurs when the planet Venus passes just in front of the Sun. The last time this happened was on June 8th, 2004.
If you miss the event on June 6th, 2012 you will have to wait 105 years for the next opportunity.
The next eight year Venus Transits will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
The Bus to the Best Seat for the Venus Transit
If you are interested in experiencing the Transit of Venus at optimal conditions in the "Land of the Midnight Sun", please send us an email before June 1st, 2012: info@visitnordkapp.no
The program is as follows:
We gather at Lakselv Banak Airport, also know as North Cape Airport on June 5th, at 6 pm. We will also pick you up at the hotel if desired.
Depending on the weather forecast we have four alternatives:
- Tankavaara (Finland)
- Kautokeino (Norway)
- North Cape (Norway)
- Lakselv (Norway)
We'll be at the best site by 11 pm on June 5th and stay up all night.
In the early morning hours we will get some sleep at the hostel in Honningsvåg, hotels in Kautkeino or Lakselv, or the Gold Village in Tankavaara. We will return to Lakselv in the afternoon of June 6th.
We plan to eat on the road at restaurants. We will provide snack food and beverages for the night.
If you need any information on how to get to Lakselv, send us an email or call +47 901 444 67.
Both SAS and Norwegian has flights to Lakselv. It is also possible to fly to Ivalo in Finland, Alta and Kirkenes in Norway. There are bus connections to Lakselv from all these airports. However, you might have to spend an extra day travelling to make it work.
Get the Front Seat for the Entire Venus Transit
It will be possible to watch part of the Venus Transit throughout Europe except Portugal and most of Spain.
Above the Arctic Circle will be the only area in Europe where you can watch the entire Venus Transit. If you are north of Junkerdalen, Gällivare, Pajala, and Pelkosenniemi after midnight on June 6th, 2012 look for the Sun and Venus.
(If you don’t wear special eye equipment, when looking at the Sun, you will damage your eyesight).
The Venus Transit will last for almost seven hours in the wee hours of the new day. Starting a few minutes after midnight and lasting until just before 7 am (GMT +2). In Finland the local time will be between 1 and 8 am (GMT +3).
Scientific Bonus of the Venus Transit
Since Venus is much further apart from the Earth compared to the Moon, the time period Venus is passing in front of the Sun is much longer. In fact, the Transit of Venus presented scientist the opportunity to measure distances in space.
When looking at an object from different locations, the position of the object on the background seems different. The parallax of an object can be used for measuring distances.
Illustration of how big the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are compared to each other:
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May 2012
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