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Venus Transit Enshrouded in Clouds
Credit: Radu Corlan
The June 8, 2004 transit was the first such transit to be observed in almost 122 years and only the seventh since the invention of the telescope in the 1600s. Radu Corlan captured this image June 8, 2004, in Bucharest, Romania. [See our Transit of Venus 2012: Complete Coverage Special Report.]
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All of the Transit
Credit: Dennis van Schelven
Dennis van Schelven took this image in Spijkenisse, The Netherlands on June 8, 2004. Transits of Venus occur in pairs eight years apart. The second event of the pair in the 21st century will take place this year — on Tuesday, June 5, as seen from the Western Hemisphere (Wednesday, June 6, from the Eastern Hemisphere).
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Venus Transit from Vallentuna, Sweden
Credit: P.M. Heden
The transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the sun is one of nature's rarest celestial phenomena. This image was captured by P. M. Heden in Vallentuna, Sweden on June 8, 2004.
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Just After the Beginning of the Transit
Credit: Irene Komninou
The start of the transit is marked by "first contact," when Venus's small inky disk first touches the Sun's edge and creates an almost imperceptible "dent" on the solar limb. This image was taken by Irene Komninou on June 8, 2004, in Iraklion, Crete, Greece.
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Halfway Between 1st and 2nd Contact
Credit: VT-2004 Team Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers, Observatory Rimavska Subota
This image of the Venus transit was taken by the VT-2004 team on June 8, 2004, in Rimavska Subota, Slovakia.
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Near Third Contact
Credit: Saverio Cammarata & Giuseppe Marino, Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi
"Third contact" takes place when Venus's disk touches the other side of the solar limb, signaling the beginning of the end of the transit. This image was taken by Saverio Cammarata & Giuseppe Marino from Catanese, Italy on June 8, 2004.
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Venus at Third Contact
Credit: Maryam Nejatbakhsh
"Third contact" takes place when Venus's disk touches the other side of the solar limb, signaling the beginning of the end of the transit. Maryam Nejatbakhsh of Akhtarvash Society, Iran took this image June 8, 2004.
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All of the Venus Transit
Credit: Elio Daniele
This image was taken by Elio Daniele from Palermo, Italy on June 8, 2004.
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2004 Venus Transit of Sun
Credit: NASA/LMSAL
Three views of Venus' solar transit in 2004, taken by NASA's sun-observing TRACE spacecraft. The top image is in visible light; the view on bottom left is in the ultraviolet, and the one on bottom right is in the extreme ultraviolet.
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Venus Transit in Clouds
Credit: Huang Yi, Hu Yixing, Qu Yizhou, Qu Wenwen, Ge Zhiyuan, Wang Yichen, Qang Jinwie, Linlan Yi, Ye Fei
This image was taken by Huang Yi, Hu Yixing, Qu Yizhou, Qu Wenwen, Ge Zhiyuan, Wang Yichen, Qang Jinwie, Linlan Yi and Ye Fei on June 8, 2004, from Yingtan, P.R. China.
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Venus Transit — Ingress
Credit: Jamie Cooper
This image was taken by Jamie Cooper from Northampton, UK on June 8, 2004.
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Venus and Photospheric Granules
Credit: Ralph Vandebergh
This image was taken by Ralph Vandebergh from the Netherlands on June 8, 2004.
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The Black Drop Phenomenon
Credit: Astronomical School of Odessa
This image was taken by the Astronomical School of Odessa from Odessa, Ukraine on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit Real-Time Lesson
Credit: John Thorpe
The transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the Sun is one of nature’s rarest celestial phenomena. This image was taken by John Thorpe from Perth, Australia on June 8, 2004.
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Transiting Venus and the Airplane
Credit: Vaclav Priban
Vaclav Priban took this image of the the transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the sun in Prague on June 8, 2004.
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Horrocks and Crabtree Experiment
Credit: Fraser, Michael and Alex Farrell
Photographers Michael Fraser and Alex Farrell saw the first 2.5 hours of transit at Penwortham, Australia (33° 55' S 138° 38' E) on a sunny winter afternoon before the sun set, June 8, 2004. Several telescopes, filters, welding glass, eclipse shades were used to capture the image, including a re-enactment of Horrocks & Crabtree in 1639 — a cheap refractor stopped down to 30 mm, with Barlow lens & Huygens eyepiece, projecting an image onto paper.
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Comprehensive School
Credit: Pavel Pasta
The June 8, 2004, transit was captured by Pavel Pasta in Zabreh, Czech Republic.
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Projected Transit
Credit: John Boyd
The June 8, 2004, transit of Venus was captured by John Boyd in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
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TRACE Image of Venus Transit (Ingress)
Credit: TRACE
The complete Venus transit was observed from the NASA "Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)" mission in white light on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit from Ukraine
Credit: Astronomical School of Odessa
This image was taken by the Astronomical School of Odessa from Odessa, Ukraine on June 8, 2004.
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Venus' Path Across the Sun
Credit: VT-2004 Team, Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers, Observatory Rimavska Subota
This image was taken by the VT-2004 team on June 8, 2004, in Rimavska Subota, Slovakia.
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Venus and the Passing Airplane
Credit: Yannick Le Garrec
An Airbus 320 (Paris-Madrid) passes exactly in front of Venus' disk near the moment of the second contact. This image was taken by Yannick Le Garrec from Cerny, France on June 8, 2004.
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Catching Venus
Credit: Kosta Sterev
The photographer, Kosta Sterev, captured the Venus transit on the palm of his hand in Poole, England on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit Through Clouds
Credit: Pencho Markishky
This image of the June 8, 2004, Venus transit was taken by Pencho Markishky in Shumen, Bulgaria.
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Transit Through the Fog
Credit: Mark Alsip
This image is of the 2004 Venus transit seen through fog. It was taken by Mark Alsip from Richmond, Kentucky on June 8, 2004.
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Transiting the Sunrise
Credit: Raul Melia and Ivan Bustos Fiero
This image was taken on June 8, 2004, at the Observatorio de Cordoba Argentina by Raul Melia and Ivan Bustos Fiero.
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Black Drop
Credit: Giancarlo Ubaldo Nappi
The transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the sun was seen by Giancarlo Ubaldo Nappi in Belo Horizante, Brazil on June 8, 2004.
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Venus in Green
Credit: Aleksandra Jasar Miklavcic & Kapler Sabina
This image is of the 2004 Venus transit, taken by Aleksandra Jasar Miklavcic & Kapler Sabina in Ljubljana, Slovenia on June 8, 2004.
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Just After Sunrise
Credit: Blaine Bittman
Blaine Bittman took this image of the transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the sun in Port Colborne, Canada on June 8, 2004.
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Venus and Bird Transiting the Sun
Credit: Marek Marcinkowski
A bird crosses the sun along during the 2004 Venus transit. This image was taken by Marek Marcinkowski from Pokowice, Poland.
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Venus Transit through High Cirrus
Credit: Ferry Doerfel
This image of the June 8, 2004, transit of Venus was taken by Ferry Doerfel in Paderborn, Germany.
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Venus Transit from Brisbane
Credit: Peter Hughson
Photographer Peter Hughson took this image from his driveway in Brisbane, Australia on June 8, 2004, about 15 minutes before the sun went behind the clouds.
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Henry and the Venus Transit
Credit: Francis and Henry Thackeray
Henry Thackeray stands in front of an image of the June 8, 2004, Venus transit taken for school in Pretoria, South Africa by Francis Thackerey.
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Transit in France
Credit: Luc Sarrazin
This image of the June 8, 2004, transit was taken by Luc Sarrazin in Marseille, France.
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Venus and the Bird
Credit: Nick King
Photographer Nick King made this image consisting of 5 separate frames of a bird flying across the face of the sun during the Venus transit in the UK on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit from Algeria
Credit: Sirius Astronomy Association
The June 8, 2004, transit was captured by the Sirius Astronomy Association in Algeria.
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Venus Transit from Macedonia
Credit: Aleksander Shulevski
This image was taken by photographer Aleksander Shulevski from Macedonia on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit from Campinas, Brasil
Credit: Irineu F.A. Filho
The transit, or passage, of Venus across the face of the sun was captured by Irineu F. A. Filho in Campina, Brasil on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit from Poland
Credit: Marcin Filipek, Polish Association of Amateur Astronomers
This image was captured by Marcin Filipek from Poland on June 8, 2004.
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Venus at Theseus-Tempel via Camera Obscura Effect
Credit: Florian Nehonsky
Florian Nehonsky took this shot of the Venus transit on June 8, 2004, in Vienna, Austria.
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Venus' Atmosphere
Credit: Ivan Eder
Ivan Eder took this photo at Polaris Observatory in Budapest, Hungary on June 8, 2004. Venus' atmosphere can be glimpsed very faintly surrounding the planet against the blackness of space.
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"Ring of Light" in Very Late Stadium
Credit: Ralf Vandebergh
Ralf Vandebergh captured this image of the Venus transit on June 8, 2004, from the Netherlands.
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Venus Near Third Contact
Credit: Steven J. Rusnak
"Third contact" takes place when Venus's disk touches the other side of the solar limb, signaling the beginning of the end of the transit. Steven J. Rusnak took this image in Stuart, Florida on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit Projected
Credit: Anne-Marie and Christophe Le Glatin
Anne-Marie and Christophe Le Glatin of Berville-Sur-Mer, Normandie, France took this photo of the Venus transit on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit with Clouds
Credit: Eugen Balan, Bucharest Astroclub
Eugen Balan of Bucharest Astroclub captured this image from Ciorogarla, Romania on June 8, 2004.
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Venus' Path Across the Solar Disc
Credit: Giovanni Paglioli, Centro Astronomico Neil Armstrong (Salerno)
Giovanni Paglioli took this image of the Venus transit on June 8, 2004 from Centro Astronomico Neil Armstrong in Salerno, Italy.
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Coloured Venus in Front of the Sun
Credit: Herwig Ronsmans
Red and blue colored edges around Venus' disc are caused by the wavelength-dependant refraction of light in Earth's atmosphere. This effect can clearly be seen when sky objects are observed close-up at low elevations. Venus' apparent height above the local horizon was 19.2° when this photo was taken. Herwig Ronsmans of Grimbergen, Belgium took this image June 8, 2004.
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"Ring of Light" Image from Netherlands
Credit: Ralf Vandebergh
Ralf Vandebergh of The Netherlands captured this image June 8, 2004. Venus' atmosphere can be faintly glimpsed in this photo.
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Venus Transit with the VCT
Credit: Michael Wilce
Michael Wilce of Central London, UK took 20 composite shots to create this image of the Venus transit on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit over Lake Erie
Credit: Annah Brown
Annah Brown captured this image at Lake Erie, Michigan on June 8, 2004.
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Venus Transit Between the Leaves
Credit: Cees Bassa
Photographer Cees Bassa of Utrecht, The Netherlands took the first exposure to capture the leaves, then 6 shots through a solar filter at 4-min intervals on June 8, 2004. [See our Transit of Venus 2012: Complete Coverage Special Report.]
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Venus Transit 2004 Photographed by Mark H. Locey
Credit: Mark H. Locey
Skywatcher Mark H. Locey sent in this photo of the 2004 Venus transit.










































































































