Courtesy: space.comFolks gathered at the Maclean Observatory at the University of Nevada's Redfield Campus in south Reno to watch the Venus transit Tuesday
Despite the chilly conditions and ominous clouds, some people said it's worth braving the inclement weather to see this historical event.
"This is what they originally tried to use to determine the distance of the sun to the earth back in 1769 with Captain James Cook. The historical significance of this is just massive. The lengths these guys went through to find out this little piece of data was so massive," says physics major Chase Hartzell.
Chase says the transit of venus occurs only twice every 120.5 years.
During the transit, Venus appears as a small dot, almost like a solar flare, passing through very slowly the face of the sun.
Astronomers say the event is best seen through filtered telescopes because it appears so small from earth.
Jake McCall says, "It's just a basically a black dot on the sun and more to the left."
"Saw Venus right in front of the sun, a perfect black circle. Right between 11 and 12 o'clock near the top of the sun," says Rich Wood.
The next Venus transit won't happen until December 2117.
For more information, go to http://www.transitofvenus.org/
