On Tuesday the sky turned into a playground for people across the Michiana area as people came here to be a part of the solar spectacular.
“If only you could see what I see,” said Jim Parise of South Bend.
It's not a bird.
"That’s pretty cool to watch,” Colin McClelland said.
Not a plane.
"It looks like a fiery ball with one percent missing," Parise said.
And this time it's not even Superman.
"It's really really cool," said Mimi Beck that works at Notre Dame.
It's not often you find this many people looking up at the sun but this was an extraordinary day as the Transit of Venus made its 2012 debut.
"So what's happening is that we’re gonna have the Earth, the Sun and Venus all aligned,” said Notre Dame Assistant Research Professor Arielle Phillips. “And so Venus is going to be between us and the sun.”
From the elaborate telescopes on the lawns of Notre Dame to a pizza shop in Niles, Michiana made the most of what the transit had to offer.
“We like to make unique pizzas every once in a while so we wanted to do a spicy pizza for Venus," said Sarah Brittin the owner of Transit Pizza in Niles.
Because Venus is 900 degrees Fahrenheit they tried to make this pizza is as hot as the planet by using jalapeños and spicy chorizo sausage.
Even coffee shops got on board with a blend of their own.
And the Michiana area became a hub for the viewing.
"18 family members from around the United States have come to participate in this," said Danny Haskett.
Haskett's great-grandfather photographed the Transit of Venus in the late 1800s. And following a family tradition, Danny knew he couldn't miss this one.
"It’s the last time for many people to see it,” Philips said. “It’s the last in this generation, if you don’t want to be too morbid about it."
This won't happen again until 2117.
From coaching people on how to spot Venus, to a lesson of our solar system today, Notre Dame pulled out all the stops.
"This really gives people a chance to see astronomy in motion," McClelland said.
