Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. 

They occur in pairs, separated by eight years, but then don’t happen again for more than a hundred.  The last pair took place on June 8, 2004 and June 6, 2012.  The next pair won’t be seen by anyone reading this today.  To watch the 2012 event, my family used this passive welder’s lens that Ron had affixed to a clipboard, complete with an artists grip for improved handling.  According to NASA, it is unsafe to view a solar event with less than a Shade 12 welder’s lens; I can’t honestly say if this one is.  The dangers of staring at anything this bright were known early.  The first recorded observation of a Venus transit  was by English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks who, recognizing the dangers of studying something so intense directly, focused an image of the Sun through a simple telescope onto a piece of paper, where it could be safely observed.

Welding is a curious trade, as it requires a barrier designed to obscure the work being done from the individual doing it.  No one else is able to see the work until the work is finished, as welder Cameron Dekker puts it.  No matter how you measure it, a welding arc is not as bright as the sun; but it is considerably closer and therefore poses legitimate risk.  Aside from the luminosity, the arc also produces scorchingly hot slag and significant UV radiation.  It is this radiation that causes ‘arc eye’, a form of conjunctivitis that damages the mucous membranes.   A welding lens, then, allows the trade to exist.  Without it, we would have no I-beams, car frames, or shipping containers (or much else).   This lightweight handled version Ron fashioned is perfect for quick and easy tasks and obviates the need for donning and doffing the usual head gear.  It is not OSHA approved.