olympics for the sky

I missed The Venusian transit of the sun. Celestial events like this, or Halley's Comet, which comes around every 76 years, are one of the few truly global events. All over the world, in countries of differing governments, ethnicities, and worldviews, people were watching Venus meander across the sun. It's like the olympics for the sky.

Except it only happens twice every 121.5 years, the last in 1882 (or so I'm told). Fortunately, I haven't necessarily missed my only shot, and will be watching the skies in 2012 to see a black dot on the sun. Or I'll forget about it while I'm getting dressed for work.