A rare celestial event known as the transit of Venus will take place Tuesday -- and Wayne State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy will be ready for an evening of sky-gazing. The Department is sponsoring a free evening of activities today from 6 to 9 p.m. in honor of the special occurrence, which happens when Venus passes directly between the Earth and Sun. The planet will be visible as a small dot moving across the Sun's surface. Jeff Conn, senior lecturer and associate director of the planetarium says the event happens about every 100-120 years in paired cycles that take place eight years apart from each other. "You might think it might happen more often, the reason it doesn't is … Venus is not quite in the same plane [as the earth] -- and every time Venus is lined up, it is usually a little above or a little below the sun." The last transit of Venus took place in 2004. Before that it hadn't taken place since 1874 and 1882. Conn said the transit is historically significant because it helped astronomers calculate the distance between the Earth and Sun.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/04/wayne-state-university-sp_n_1568955.html
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2012/06/04/news/doc4fcd3cb81bb10163423180.txt
http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/06/05/news/doc4fcd1edaaba6d522044477.txt
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/06/05/its-the-last-transit-of-venus-during-our-lifetime/
http://royaloak.patch.com/articles/how-to-watch-venus-in-transit#video-10173726
http://oaklandtownship.patch.com/articles/venus-in-transit-05054182#video-10173726
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