Venus Transit and Midnight Sun

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day the exotic motion of the midnight sun along the northern horizon is photographed above the Norwegian Sea in this photo sequence from northern Norway. The beginning of 6 June 2012 transit of Venus is also recorded. Venus appears as a black dot on the upper left of the solar disc, as well as few sunspots which appear smaller and pale black compared to Venus. Click on the second photo to see a closer view of the sun later during the middle of the 6-hour long Venus transit. At the imaging latitude of 69 degrees north the sun doesn’t set in June and July. The never-ending days of the season is highlighted by midnight sun which glides close to the northern horizon, almost parallel to the horizon, a scene quite unusual for any visitor to the polar latitudes. The Transit of Venus is a rare celestial phenomenon happens only twice in each century and the 2012 transit was the last of our time. The next transit arrives in the year 2117.