A rare astronomical event involving Venus coming up in a few weeks time:
Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.
A transit took place on 8 June 2004 and
the next will be on 5 and 6 June 2012. The previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882. After 2012, the next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
First observed in 1639, in Lancashire, by Jeremiah Horrocks from his home in Much Hoole, near Preston. His friend, William Crabtree, also observed this transit from Broughton, near Manchester.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus
Transit of Venus, 2012 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia