How to Watch the Last Transit of Venus This Century

Monday, June 4, 2012 - 16:30 in Astronomy & Space

Observatories the world over will be watching on Tuesday as Venus crosses the face of the sun for the last time in any of our lifetimes. It will be a banner day for astronomers, providing ample opportunities for measuring Venus' characteristics, and for determining some rules that will help in the hunt for exoplanets. But it's also just an amazing thing to behold, and you can watch it, too - as long as you follow some safety precautions. First and foremost: Never look at the sun directly. Your retina does not have pain receptors, so you'll never feel it as the sun's blazing glare fries your eyes. Astronomy clubs, universities and planetaria around the country will have special glasses you can wear - and you can go here to find one in your area. If you saved the eclipse glasses you wore for the solar eclipse last month, those will work,...

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