Vietnamese astronomy lovers will have the chance to enjoy two interesting natural phenomena in June, including a partial lunar eclipse and a very rare transit of Venus across the sun.

The information was released on May 28 by Nguyen Duc Phuong, General Secretary of the Vietnam Astronomy and Space Association.

Phuong said, the partial eclipse will start at 4.59pm ( Vietnam time), with the greatest eclipse reaching at 6.30pm on June 4, when 37 percent of the moon will be shaded. The eclipse will end at 7.06pm on the same evening.

A eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth, so the Earth blocks the Sun’s rays from striking the Moon.

Soon afterwards, the other phenomenon, a transit of Venus across the Sun’s face, will occur on June 6.

According to Phuongthe interesting phenomenon can be observed in most places of the world. This is the most outstanding astronomical event this year as the next transit will be in 105 years time.

A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth , becoming visible against the solar disk. Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena.

Venus is the second planet outward from the sun and next planet inward from Earth. During a transit , Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun. The phenomenon will happen over 6 hours and 40 minutes.

In Vietnam , the phenomenon will start when the sun rises and end at about 12 o’clock.

Observers are advised to use proper eye protection tools for watching the rare event.-VNA