The astronomical term "transit", which can mean the passing of any body over any other body or through any point, can most often be applied to the time that a body transits the meridian.

This is somewhat confusing, because a transit is often used to refer to such highly unusual events as Venus crossing the disc of the sun, but it can also be used to describe the very normal event of Venus crossing the meridian of the sky, which it does once a day.

For most people, knowing the transit time of a planet is important because at transit, a planet is the highest in the sky, and therefore most free of light pollution or haze. Knowing the transit time, along with the rising and setting time allows an observer to also estimate where it would be at other times of the night, which makes identification much easier.