Unless there are some miracle medical advances, today will be the last time that the planet Venus passes in front of the sun in our lifetime. It will occur from 5:03 Kansas time until sunset. So, for those time challenged, that is 6:03 Eastern time and 3:03 pm Western Time Zone. It is going to be a pretty cool thing to see, so get out your welding glasses or old film negatives and take a peek.

Okay. The Transit of Venus was smack dab in the middle of our Tuesday ride. Trudi came back from shopping with a couple pairs of welding goggles she had purchased at Harbor Freight. You actually had to wear a pair of sunglasses under the goggles to make it dark enough to look directly at the sun. We weren’t having such good luck, so went on a ride. We were riding back toward Washburn University, when we decided to stop at the Flying Monkey Coffeeshop for $3 Boulevard Tank 7 drafts. Trudi rode over and said that they had a special Venus viewing set up at the Planetarium at the University.

So, we guzzled down our beers and rode over to Washburn and just got there with a few minutes to spare to see the small black dot crossing the path of the sun. It was pretty cool, but it was surprising how small Venus is compared to the Sun. I know intellectually how big the sun is, but this put it in a much better perspective. Anyway, if you’re on the West coast, you still have more than an hour to take a peek.

Trudi and Catherine sporting the welding goggles before the ride. Nice look.

Trudi in a rush to make it back for viewing. Notice the welding goggles on her fanny pack strap.

The planetarium building at the local university here in Topeka, Washburn.

Catching the last glimpse of Venus before the sunset.