Transit of Venus across the Sun, from Eagle Hill, 2012

These photographs were taken from the summit of Eagle Hill in Steuben, Maine, on June 5th, 2012. It was a very cloudy day, so there were only brief glimpses of Venus through the cloudcover. This resulted in these very dramatic photos.

These 3 photos are linked to higher resolution photos.

The Sun is silver almost like the moon while a black dot (Venus) and clouds pass in front of it.

Golden sunset photo showing the transit of Venus. Venus is a tiny black dot almost as small as a pixel in front of a bright glowing Sun.

Black sky and clouds with a deep red Sun. Venus is a black dot in front of the Sun

Photos © by Ahti Launis of Lithuania, an Eagle Hill alumnus.

A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth. This alignment is rare, coming in pairs that are eight years apart but separated by over a century.

Past transits of Venus

December 9, 1874
December 6, 1882

June 8, 2004
June 5, 2012

Next transits of Venus

December 11th, 2117
December 8th, 2125