1769 Transit of Venus
A\xa0transit of Venus\xa0across the\xa0Sun\xa0takes place when the\xa0planet\xa0Venus\xa0passes directly between the Sun and a\xa0superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the\xa0solar disk. During a\xa0transit, Venus can be seen from\xa0Earth\xa0as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. The duration of such transits is usually several hours (the transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes). A transit\xa0is similar to\xa0a\xa0solar eclipse\xa0by the\xa0Moon. Although the diameter of Venus is more than three times that of the Moon, Venus appears smaller and travels more slowly across the face of the Sun, because it is much farther away from Earth.