UPDATE: NASA has complied multiple images of the transit taken by its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) into a single nifty image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/7344062712/in/set-72157629955754198

ORIGINAL STORY: If you have clear skies in your area, don’t forget to look at the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun. This rare celestial event will not be seen again until 2117. But you need to wear special glasses to protect your eyes — or just watch it all on NASA TV or NASA Edge.

NASA TV will provide live coverage of the transit from a variety of locations beginning at 5:30 pm ET, and NASA Edge will air the transit from Mauna Kea, Hawaii beginning at 5:45 pm ET. NASA’s press release says Mauna Kea — a 14,000 foot high mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii where some of the world’s premier telescopes are located — has the best viewing position of the entire transit.

NASA has a map of the world illustrating where and when the transit is visible. Most of North America can see it — weather permitting — at sunset today, June 5, when the transit already is in progress. It’s pretty cloudy here in the Washington, DC area so NASA’s programming seems like the best bet for anyone around here.