I was appalled, to say the least, at the picture on Wednesday’s Sun Journal (June 9) of the people attempting to view the Transit of Venus without regard to eye protection.

I had spent some time the previous day explaining to my students that a filter or some sort of remote viewing device should be used and told them never to look directly at the sun with the naked eye. This is recommended by several Web sites in connection with solar viewing, including the Hubble and NASA Web sites. And yet the Sun Journal shows that it is apparently completely safe.

I was also disappointed that there was no mention of the upcoming event previous to its occurrence in spite of the fact it has not happened in the past 122 years. I also saw no mention that its next occurrence will be in 2012, provided we are still here then.

Lawrence Blodgett, Carthage

Editor’s note: The Sun Journal ran numerous stories on the Transit of Venus, including stories on June 6, 7 and 10. Those stories included information about appropriate viewing techniques and the 2012 event.