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Pittsburgh science center open for Venus event

PITTSBURGH — The Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh will give stargazers a chance to catch a rare event next week: the Transit of Venus.

The event occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the sun, something that happens in pairs about every 100 years.

The first transit in the latest pair of events occurred June 8, 2004, and the next is scheduled to occur late in the afternoon on Tuesday, June 5.

Science center officials said Venus will begin passing in front of the sun at 6:04 p.m. and will be fully silhouetted by the sun at 6:21 p.m. that day.

The next time it happens will be in the year 2117.

The public viewing will occur in the center's Buhl Planetarium.