Venus Transit Visible in North Texas

Museums in Dallas and Fort Worth offer safe viewing

On Tuesday, North Texas residents will be able to see the transit of Venus as it crosses directly in front of the sun.

The transit is quite rare, and there are only four passes in 240 years, usually in pairs of two transits within eight years (the last transit was in 2004). That means that the next opportunity to see it will be December 2117.

Watch the live steam from NASA of the transit via MSNBC video here

Although the phenomenon will be visible to the naked eye, every single informational website we have come across insists that it dangerous to look at it without special glasses designed to shield the retina from the infrared radiation.

It may sound like your mother telling you not to swim for at least 30 minutes after you eat, but there are several options for safely viewing the event.

The Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park offered safety solar glasses at no additional charge for guests attending their Venus transit shows from 10:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. There was also outdoor solar observing.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will be providing safe viewing telescopes for all visitors.

If you can't make it to either museum and you cannot accept the possibility of missing out on a safe viewing experience, get to the hardware store and ask for No. 14 shade welding glass.

Appearing at 1/32 the size of the sun, Venus will be a barely visible blip arcing across the sun. The transit will begin after 4 p.m.

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