The Transit of Venus, one of the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena, takes place when the planet passes directly between the Earth and Sun. TIME takes a look at photographs from the once-in-a-lifetime event.
The Transit of Venus: Photographs from a Rare Celestial Event
Anindito Mukhrejee / EPA
Venus appeared as a small black dot on the massive surface of the sun in New Delhi as it passed directly between the Earth and the centre of the solar system in its last transit in this century, June 6, 2012.