Venus Transits Through Inver Grove Skies at 5ish

The transit of Venus is happening today in Inver Grove Heights at around 5 p.m.

The transit will occur when the planet Venus will be visible as it moves across the face of the sun and partially blocks its light from reaching Earth.

"This is the last chance for anyone alive today to see the transit of Venus, since it won't happen again until 2117. The complete transit will take about six and a half hours," Christine Douglass, PR manager for the American Academy of Ophthalmology said.

The National Weather Service is predicting for Inver Grove Heights a "mostly clear" evening with a low around 58 degrees. Ideal places to watch the occurence would include the Rock Island Swing Bridge or , or the .   

It's a once in a lifetime occurence so, if you're going to watch it, make sure you do it safely. Make sure you understand that looking directly at it will damage your eye's retina. 

Safe options include:

• Watch the transit at a planetarium or program by a university astronomy department. Because Venus will look quite tiny against the sun's vast surface, it will be best to watch this amazing event via professional projection on a large screen.
• Visit NASA's website for a live-streaming broadcast for a live chat with scientists.
• Make a simple "pinhole camera" using two sheets of paper: make a pinhole in the center of one sheet; then stand with your back to the sun, holding that sheet so that the sun shines through the pinhole onto the second piece of paper. You'll see an image of the transit of Venus projected on the second sheet.

WARNING: The following devices will not protect your eyes: sunglasses, binoculars with filters, neutral density filters, or exposed photographic or radiographic film.