The previous solar event I could see in Nashville

Happy eclipse day!

June 5, 2012 was the last time I tried to photograph the sun. On that day, the planet Venus came between us and the sun. If Venus was a lot bigger, I guess you could call this an eclipse, but the sun was so bright that you couldn't see this unless you had a solar filter. Since it's not an eclipse, the Astronomy term is Transit of Venus.

If you think a solar eclipse is rare, the Transit of Venus will not happen again until 2117. However, there will be a Transit of Mercury on Nov 11, 2019, but it will not be visible in the United States.