Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton will open its doors Tuesday at sundown to watch Venus pass in front of the sun.
At about 6:04 p.m., Venus is set to pass over the solar disk in one of the rarest astronomical events. It won't occur again until 2117.
"This is your last chance to see it," Eric Vandernoot, astronomy coordinator at Florida Atlantic University, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "No one alive today will see it again."
According to MSNBC, only seven transits of Venus have been observed since the time of Galileo, most recently in 2004.
The crossover is said to resemble a tiny black spot, with a diameter measuring 1/32 that of the sun's, traversing over the solar disk. Though visible to the naked eye, observers are instructed to wear protective eyegear or use a telescope to view the historic transit, said MSNBC.
Local
"You need to look at the sun safely," Vandernoot told the Sentinel. "You don't want to mess around with your eyes."
Broward College’s Buehler Planetarium & Observatory in Davie will also offer amateurs a chance to experience the phenomenon. The college will provide a free viewing session and offer a special presentation in the college’s 40-foot dome for $4. The event will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Although Venus passes between the Earth and the sun every 583.9 days, it rarely crosses directly in front of the sun, representatives at Broward College said.
"Anybody that comes and sees this can say they were a part of history," Mark Mathosian, an astronomer who will photograph the event, told the Sentinel.
