Here are some safe options for viewing Tuesday’s rare Venus transit of the Sun, reprinted from EarthSky.org:
Indirect viewing. Creating a pinhole camera is another great option, because it lets families and friends get a good view of the transit together. We recommend this article by the masters of do-it-yourself science at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Their article on how to view solar eclipses safely teaches you to make an easy pinhole projector. With it, you can shine the sun’s image onto a flat surface and impress your friends and neighbors while giving everyone (including yourself) an unforgettable experience.
Online viewing. Obviously, this method is the one of choice if the 2012 transit of Venus takes place when it is nighttime outside for you. The disadvantage here is that you won’t have the fun of seeing the event with your family, friends and neighbors. But any view of the last transit of Venus in this century is better than none. Online viewing options include:
- Slooh.com put on a fantastic show for the May 20-21, 2012 solar eclipse. They’ll be broadcasting 10 free, real-time feeds of the Venus transit live from solar telescopes in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, Norway, Arizona, and New Mexico.
- The Exploratorium in San Francisco will be showing the transit on large screens during museum hours, and others worldwide can watch it via their live feed.
- Bareket Observatory in Israel is offering a Live Venus transit page. They say you’ll be automatically transfered to the live images, during the event.
- Astronomers Without Borders will stream the event live to a worldwide audience from historic Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California.
