Don't Destroy Your Eyes Looking At The Transit Of Venus - Check It Out Right Here

The incredibly rare transit of Venus has begun, and health officials are reminding people not to look directly at the sun during the astronomical event. We thought we would step up and, for the sake of everyone's poor retinas, show you what all the fuss is about:

The event occurred last on June 8, 2004, and will not happen again until December 11, 2117. Only six transits of Venus are known to have been observed since humans identified the phenomena: in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004. As always, click the photos to view full size:

The event holds special significance for Australia - Captain James Cook travelled to the island of Tahiti in 1769 to observe the transit of Venus. It was on that expedition that he later discovered the east coast of Australia.

More amazing photos of a tiny black dot in front of a circle after the jump...