Tonight, at around 6 p.m., Venus will be crossing over the face of the sun in what will be a rare, once-in-a-lifetime sighting for Georgetown residents (and the rest of the world). This cosmic event will not happen again for another 105 years, so get yourself out there if you can.

Don’t look directly at the sun. You can go blind. In fact, don’t even use binoculars. Here are a list of recommended ways to view the transit:

• Special viewing glasses available at museums

• Welder’s glasses (Can be found at hardware stores. For the devoted ones only)

• The Interwebs

• If you do have binocs, project the image of the Sun onto a white piece of paper. I don’t know how to do that but look it up! Ever heard of Google?!

• The National Air and Space Museum will be hosting a telescopic viewing event from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the National Mall side of the museum. Admission is free. Read the rest of this entry »