Venus

Stargazers around the world held up their telescopes and viewing glasses to watch Venus slide across the sun - a rare celestial phenomenon that will not happen again for more than 100 years. The spectacle began shortly after 2200 GMT on Tuesday (5/6/2012) in parts of North America, Central America and the northern part of South America, and was seen, with magnification, as a small black dot on the solar surface.

Picture: NASA/Reuters