This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Venus in Transit Tuesday Afternoon

2012 is your last chance to catch this rare celestial event, unless you plan on living until 2117.

A little after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, residents of the Sacramento area will have an opportunity to witness one of the rarest predictable celestial events: a transit of Venus.

Often referred to as the "Evening Star" or "Morning Star," Venus is the brightest natural object in our sky after the Sun and the Moon. As the second planet from the Sun, it's closer to the Sun than the Earth is. 

A "transit" of Venus occurs when Venus passes between us and the Sun in such a way that we can see Venus's silhouette backlit by the Sun's brilliant light. It last happened in 2004, but it won't happen again until 2117. Unless you plan to shatter some human longevity records, this is probably your last chance.

Find out what's happening in Fair Oaks-Carmichaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Were Venus either large enough or close enough to block out the Sun's light as it passed, we would call this event an eclipse, as we do when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. Venus, however, is a little bit smaller than the Earth and about 27 million miles away. When its tiny silhouette is viewed against the Sun, which lies another 66 million miles beyond, it can offer viewers a dramatic sense of the solar system's vast scale.

Assuming sufficiently clear skies, the transit will be visible on the West Coast starting at about 3:06 p.m. on Tuesday and will remain so until the sun sets at around 8:00 p.m. Viewers in Alaska, Japan, and large sections of Australia, China, and Russia will get an even better view, seeing the transit in its entirety.

Find out what's happening in Fair Oaks-Carmichaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

How to watch

Never look directly at the sun with your naked eyes. You can damage your eyes. Likewise, viewing the sun with either binoculars or a telescope can direct the sun's magnified rays directly into your eyeball and cause serious injury―think about what happens to ants under a magnifying glass.

Sunglasses do not provide sufficient protection. If you know someone who works in plumbing or construction, ask them if they have any #14 welder's glass. You can look directly at the sun through this material without risking injury.

If you have a tripod or a partner and a pair of steady hands, you can use binoculars to project an image of the Sun onto a white piece of paper. Remember, don't look through your binoculars at the sun!

If none of these options is feasible, the Sacramento City College Observatory is hosting a viewing open to the public.

  • Sacramento City College Observatory, 3835 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, Rodda South building. Ascend the southeastern staircase to the top floor of the building. The observatory will be open starting at 2:45 p.m.

Though it's not quite the same as viewing the phenomenon in person, there are several places to watch the transit of Venus online:

Lastly, there's Don Pettit, an astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station. Pettit's not doing a video feed, but he will become the first person to ever photograph a transit of Venus from outer space

Like on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Get Free Newsletter

Download the movie

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Fair Oaks-Carmichael