Transit of Venus 2012: No Go in Atlanta?

The world seems suddenly aflutter at the prospect of seeing Venus pass across the Sun. I had no clue this was going on yesterday. Today it's all everyone's talking about.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it won't happen again until 2117, according to The Washington Post.

Unfortunately, we won't likely be able to see it. Today's overcast weather forecast is to blame.

But should any of you find yourself in the unlikely moment where you can view Venus doing its thing (or you're one of our regular readers vacationing somewhere sunnier) here are some safety tips for the event, thanks to the American Academy of Opthalmology.

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 and enjoy a live chat with scientists, if you like.
• 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.

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

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.

Is anyone other there determined to see the event regardless? How do you plan to go about it? Tell us in the comments section below.