Every 120 years or so a dark spot glides across the Sun. Small, inky-black, almost perfectly circular, it's no ordinary sunspot. Transits of Venus are rare. Many astronomers had never live to see one. Decide for yourself. On June 8, 2004, Venus is due to cross the face of the Sun again. The event will be web cast, broadcast, and targeted by innumerable sidewalk telescopes. In other words, you can't miss it. Look into the inky black disk. It can carry you back to a different place and time: Tahiti, 1769, when much of Earth was still a mystery and the eye at the telescope belonged to a great explorer.
The best reason to watch the 2004 transit of Venus is history.
Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/28may_cook.htm?list807449
The transits of Venus will most probably be shown on Spaceweather.com on June 8.
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