Transit of Venus. Diagram showing the transit of Venus across the Sun in 1761. Transits by Venus across the Sun are rare, occurring in the modern era in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, 2004, and 2012. The next pair of transits by Venus across the Sun will occur in 2117 and 2125. In 1761, numerous expeditions were made for the first time to observe the transit at different locations worldwide. This diagram is from the Dutch work 'Afbeelding van den weg der planeet Venus' (1761, Nicholas Ypey).