Venus transits across the sun

None of us will likely see Venus pass, like a moving beauty spot, across the face of the sun again.

From the U.S. to South Korea, people around the world turned their attention to the daytime sky on Tuesday and early Wednesday in Asia to make sure they caught the rare sight of the transit of Venus. The next one won't be for another 105 years.

On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. (NASA Photo)

This image provided by NASA shows the Solar Dynamic Observatory's ultra-high definition view of Venus, black dot at top left, passing in front of the sun on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/NASA/Solar Dynamic Observatory)

Venus is silhouetted as it crosses in front of the sun as it sets behind the Kansas City, Mo. skyline on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. From the U.S. to South Korea, people around the world turned their attention to the daytime sky on Tuesday and early Wednesday in Asia to make sure they caught the once-in-a-lifetime sight of the transit of Venus, which won't be seen for another 105 years. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Venus begins to pass in front of the sun, as visible from New York, on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Indian Pramod Kumar Pandey, Director of Jawahar Planetarium checks a telescope as he makes preparations for people to watch the transit of Venus in Allahabad, India, Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Venus travels across the surface of the sun as seen through a telescope on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in Yellowknife, The Northwest Territories. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Bill Braden)

In this photo made using a series of red, blue and green filters, Venus begins to pass in front of the sun, as visible from Hutchinson, Kan. at 6:15 p.m. CST on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Travis Morisse)

People crowd at the Griffith Observatory to watch the transit of Venus across the sun in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

People watch the transit of Venus across the sun with special viewing glasses outside the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Venus passes in front of the sun, as visible from Hong Kong, on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Venus passes in front of the sun in a view from Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Venus, which is extremely hot, is one of Earth's two neighbours and is so close in size to our planet that scientists at times call them near-twins. During the transit, it will appear as a small dot.

Image: Transit of Venus in the national capital.

The transit of Venus will be visible from much of Earth - Tuesday from the Western Hemisphere and Wednesday from the Eastern Hemisphere. This sight won't come again in a 105 years. Image: Guwahati is treated to the rare phenomenon.

The complete 7-hour transit will be visible from the Pacific coast of United States, eastern Asia and eastern Australia. In India this spectacle will be visible around 7:00 am IST on Wednesday (June 6) in most parts of the country. Image: Transit of Venus as seen from Hyderabad.

The Venus transit will peak just after 7 am when the black dot of Venus can be observed at the innermost point of the solar disc. Image: Transit of Venus as seen from Lucknow

This will be the seventh transit visible since German astronomer Johannes Kepler first predicted the phenomenon in the 17th century. Because of the shape and speed of Venus' orbit around the sun and its relationship to Earth's annual trip, transits occur in pairs separated by more than a century. Image: Transit of Venus seen by people in Ahmedabad