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SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. Westchester residents taking special precautions will be able to get a look at a rare astronomical event on Tuesday -- the transit of Venus.
During the event, the planet Venus passes between the sun and Earth The next transit of Venus will take place in 2117.
Transits of Venus occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years or 105.5 years. The last transit in the current pairing took place in June 2004. The previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882. The next pairing of transits will be in December 2117 and December 2125.[4][5]
The Westchester Amateur Astronomers will host a special viewing on the grounds of James House at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow during the event, which should begin at 6:04 p.m. and end at sunset at 8:20 p.m. Attendees will be able to see approximately 35 percent of the entire event through properly-filtered telescopes.
Those who wish to view the transit from their own backyards should take care to protect their eyes. Staring directly at the sun during the transit could cause blindness. NASA offers several safety tips and viewing options on their website for amateur astronomers, including solar filters and special eclipse glasses.
More than 10 live webcasts will stream the transit of Venus online, including the primary Sun-Earth Day webcast from a NASA center in Mauna Kea, Hawaii and a special webcast from the International Space Station.
Learn more about the Transit of Venus on NASA's website.
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