Venus Takes Center Stage In The Sky Tonight

Tonight brings a once-in-a-lifetime event in the sky starting around 6pm in the South Jersey area.  If you are lucky, you'll see the Sun will have a beauty mark on it - the planet Venus.

The transit of Venus makes the planet currently Earth's closest neighboring planet, although Mars occasionally has that distinction.  The transit tonight is so rare that it will not happen again until 2117, when we will more than likely be dead!

The Press of Atlantic City reports that he transit is happening during a 6-hour, 40-minute span starting just after 6 p.m.  What you can see and for how long depends on what the sun's doing in your region during that exact window, and the weather.  We should see the start of the transit until the sun sets.

The Associated Press says the best view of this event will be through special telescopes and cardboard eclipse sunglasses.  Remember that you should not stare directly at the sun without eclipse glasses, a properly filtered telescope or a strong welding visor.  Permanent eye damage could result if these things are not done.