Timetable for 2012 Venus Transit tells Where and When to Look

This evening’s Venus Transit will present many with the opportunity of a lifetime to watch the planet Venus transit across the face of the sun. If you miss this viewing opportunity, your next chance to watch a Venus Transit will not be for over 100 years in 2117.

In earlier articles about the 2012 Venus Transit (read here), we talked about how to watch the event safely and with proper eye protection and observation techniques. In this article we are providing a timetable of the Venus Transit, courtesy of NASA. The timetable below shows what you should expect to see, based on where your live, as well as when to look to watch the transit of Venus.

As you can see from the image, the time for the Venus Transit are broken into 5 distinct phases:

External Ingress: when the planet Venus first touches the edge of the sun which signals the beginning of the transit. This will be just a few minutes after 5PM Eastern time in the U.S. (22:09:38 UT)

Internal Ingress: when all of Venus is in front of the sun signaling the start of the “full transit” just before 5:30PM Eastern (22:27:34 UT)

Greatest Transit: when Venus has reached the half way point in its transit across the face of the sun. This point will not be visible for most in the Eastern United States as the sun will have set by then, but those further to the west will see it. Just before 8:30PM Eastern (01:29:36 UT). For those in the East, don’t worry as you will have about 2 to 2.5 hours to watch the first half of the Venus Transit before sunset.

Internal Egress: opposite the Internal Ingress, this is the last moment that all of Venus is in front of the sun at just after 11:30 Eastern. (04:31:39 UT)

External Egress: the last moment that Venus will be seen as it partially blocks the sun about 20 minutes later (04:49:35 UT).

Below is a table (from NASA) of US Major cities with a timetable for Venus Transit with times in Universal Time (UT) also known as GMT (Grenich Mean Time) this is currently +5 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

——————- T r a n s i t C o n t a c t s ——————-

Location Name External Sun Internal Sun Greatest Sun Internal Sun External Sun
Ingress Alt Ingress Alt Transit Alt Egress Alt Egress Alt
h m s ° h m s ° h m s ° h m s ° h m s °

Akron 22:03:56 30 22:21:35 26 — – — – — –
Albany 22:03:36 24 22:21:15 21 — – — – — –
Allentown 22:03:42 25 22:21:21 22 — – — – — –
Atlanta 22:04:17 31 22:21:56 27 — – — – — –
Austin 22:05:10 42 22:22:48 38 01:25:31 0 — – — –
Baltimore 22:03:46 26 22:21:26 22 — – — – — –
Baton Rouge 22:04:46 36 22:22:25 32 — – — – — –
Birmingham 22:04:24 33 22:22:04 29 — – — – — –
Boise 22:05:40 54 22:23:15 51 01:25:39 19 — – — –
Boston 22:03:31 22 22:21:10 19 — – — – — –
Buffalo 22:03:48 28 22:21:26 25 — – — – — –
Charleston 22:04:00 29 22:21:39 26 — – — – — –
Chicago 22:04:12 34 22:21:49 31 — – — – — –
Cincinnati 22:04:07 32 22:21:45 28 — – — – — –
Cleveland 22:03:56 30 22:21:35 26 — – — – — –
Columbia 22:04:06 28 22:21:46 25 — – — – — –
Columbus 22:04:02 31 22:21:40 27 — – — – — –
Dallas 22:05:00 41 22:22:38 37 01:25:34 0 — – — –
Dayton 22:04:05 31 22:21:44 28 — – — – — –
Denver 22:05:11 47 22:22:47 44 01:25:36 9 — – — –
Des Moines 22:04:30 39 22:22:07 35 01:25:49 2 — – — –
Detroit 22:03:59 31 22:21:37 28 — – — – — –
El Paso 22:05:38 49 22:23:16 45 01:25:24 8 — – — –
Flint 22:04:00 31 22:21:37 28 — – — – — –
Grand Rapids 22:04:05 33 22:21:43 30 — – — – — –
Harrisburg 22:03:46 26 22:21:25 23 — – — – — –
Hartford 22:03:35 23 22:21:14 20 — – — – — –
Honolulu 22:09:59 85 22:27:38 89 01:26:12 49 04:26:30 9 04:44:29 5
Houston 22:05:03 40 22:22:42 36 — – — – — –
Indianapolis 22:04:11 33 22:21:49 30 — – — – — –
Jackson 22:04:38 35 22:22:17 32 — – — – — –
Jacksonville 22:04:16 28 22:21:57 24 — – — – — –
Kansas City 22:04:37 39 22:22:15 36 01:25:44 2 — – — –
Lansing 22:04:02 32 22:21:40 29 — – — – — –
Lincoln 22:04:41 41 22:22:17 38 01:25:45 4 — – — –
Little Rock 22:04:39 37 22:22:18 34 — – — – — –
Los Angeles 22:06:17 58 22:23:53 55 01:25:24 18 — – — –
Louisville 22:04:12 33 22:21:50 29 — – — – — –
Madison 22:04:15 35 22:21:52 32 01:25:57 0 — – — –
Memphis 22:04:31 36 22:22:10 32 — – — – — –
Miami 22:04:23 26 22:22:05 22 — – — – — –
Milwaukee 22:04:11 34 22:21:48 31 — – — – — –
Minneapolis 22:04:23 38 22:22:00 35 01:25:56 4 — – — –
Montgomery 22:04:25 32 22:22:05 29 — – — – — –
Nashville 22:04:19 33 22:21:58 30 — – — – — –
New Haven 22:03:36 23 22:21:15 20 — – — – — –
New Orleans 22:04:44 35 22:22:23 31 — – — – — –
New York 22:03:39 24 22:21:18 21 — – — – — –
Norfolk 22:03:49 25 22:21:29 22 — – — – — –
Oklahoma City 22:04:55 42 22:22:33 38 01:25:36 2 — – — –
Omaha 22:04:38 40 22:22:14 37 01:25:46 4 — – — –
Orlando 22:04:20 27 22:22:00 24 — – — – — –
Philadelphia 22:03:42 25 22:21:22 21 — – — – — –
Phoenix 22:05:55 54 22:23:32 50 01:25:24 13 — – — –
Pittsburgh 22:03:53 28 22:21:32 25 — – — – — –
Portland 22:05:57 57 22:23:31 54 01:25:45 23 — – — –
Providence 22:03:32 22 22:21:12 19 — – — – — –
Raleigh 22:03:57 27 22:21:36 23 — – — – — –
Richmond 22:03:51 26 22:21:30 23 — – — – — –
Riverside 22:06:14 58 22:23:50 54 01:25:24 17 — – — –
Rochester 22:03:44 27 22:21:23 24 — – — – — –
Sacramento 22:06:15 60 22:23:50 56 01:25:32 21 — – — –
St. Paul 22:04:23 38 22:22:00 35 01:25:56 4 — – — –
St. Louis 22:04:25 36 22:22:02 33 — – — – — –
St. Petersburg 22:04:25 28 22:22:06 25 — – — – — –
Salem 22:06:00 58 22:23:34 55 01:25:44 24 — – — –
Salt Lake City 22:05:33 52 22:23:08 49 01:25:35 15 — – — –
San Antonio 22:05:15 42 22:22:54 38 01:25:29 0 — – — –
San Diego 22:06:18 58 22:23:54 54 01:25:23 16 — – — –
San Francisco 22:06:21 61 22:23:56 57 01:25:31 22 — – — –
San Jose 22:06:20 60 22:23:56 57 01:25:30 21 — – — –
Seattle 22:05:50 56 22:23:24 53 01:25:49 23 — – — –
Springfield 22:04:21 36 22:21:58 32 — – — – — –
Syracuse 22:03:41 26 22:21:20 23 — – — – — –
Tallahassee 22:04:24 30 22:22:04 27 — – — – — –
Tampa 22:04:24 28 22:22:05 24 — – — – — –
Toledo 22:04:01 31 22:21:39 28 — – — – — –
Topeka 22:04:41 40 22:22:18 37 01:25:43 3 — – — –
Tulsa 22:04:48 40 22:22:26 37 01:25:39 1 — – — –
Washington, DC 22:03:48 26 22:21:27 23 — – — – — –