Orlando residents, including sky-watchers, could get lucky and witness the 2012 transit of Venus on Tuesday evening, June 5. That’s if the weather cooperates and the skies are clear.
The transit begins around 6:00 p.m. and ends at sunset at 8.26 p.m., est.
Transits happen when a planet crosses between Earth and the sun; tomorrow Venus will pass between the sun and the Earth and appear as a small dot slowly crawling across the face of the Sun.
This once in a life-time event won’t be seen again in another 105 years.
While the 2012 transit of Venus will be visible to the naked eye, astromers caution that sky-watchers should not look directly at the sun without protection. Special viewing glasses like solar eclipse glasses and welders goggles should be worn. Other options are telescopes with special filters and pinhole projects. Stacked sunglasses, smoked glass, or reliance on cloudcover are not recommended forms of protection.
