Transit of Venus: Last chance to see it before 2117

to the stage, 105 years will have sailed by, meaning most people alive today will not be around to see the encore performance in 2117.
The entire transit, lasting 6 hours and 40 minutes, will be visible almost worldwide — but if you are in the UK and don’t want to miss it, it will be an early rise at 5.55am (6.55am Zimbabwean time). Beginning on Tuesday at 11.04pm BST, skywatchers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South America will see the beginning of the show before the sun sets.
Europe, western and central Asia, eastern Africa and western Australia will catch the tail end after sunrise.
There will be some observers with an unfettered view — those floating 245miles up in the International Space Station. Because transits of Venus come in pairs that occur once every 100 years or so, humans have rarely had the chance to photograph the apparition from Earth, much less from Earth orbit.
“The Expedition 31 crew will be the first people in history to see a Venus transit from space, and Pettit will be the first to photograph one,” said Mario Runco, Jr of the Johnson Space Center.
Pettit will be pointing his camera through the side windows of the space station’s cupola, an observatory module that provides a wide-angle view of Earth and the cosmos.
Its seven windows are used by the crew to operate the station’s robotic arm, coordinate space dockings, and take science-grade photos of the Earth and sky.
It’s also a favorite ‘hangout’ for off-duty astronauts who find the view exhilarating.
This month’s transit is the bookend of a 2004-2012 pair.  Astronauts were onboard the ISS in 2004, but they did not see the transit, mainly because they had no solar filters onboard.
The 2004 transit, pictured here from the Philippines, moved across the top of the sun, as viewed from Earth. The 2012 transit will run across the bottom of the face
The 2004 transit, pictured here from the Philippines, moved across the top of the sun, as viewed from Earth. The 2012 transit will run across the bottom of the face
Tiny Venus covers a small fraction of the solar disk, so the sun is still painfully bright to the human eye even at mid-transit.  Pettit’s foresight to bring a solar filter with him makes all the difference.
Watching from space is an eviable duty, but most of us sadly will not get to see that day.
So if you watch it from Earth, remember: do not stare directly at the sun; but wear special protective glasses.
You can damage your eyes by staring at the sun. People need to remember that as they turn to the skies to watch and keep in mind a few tips.
Wear special viewing glasses such as solar eclipse glasses, or use binoculars or a telescope to project the image onto a screen.
Alternatively, there are guides available online to make a pinhole projector with cardboard. — Daily Mail.