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Here it is, the last transit of Venus in our lifetimes (assuming we don’t figure out how to download ourselves into cyberspace sometime soon, that is):

Ah, just kidding. I photoshopped that little black dot in. But if I had been able to get a picture of the transit, it would have looked something like that. Probably.

Actually, I’m not sure why I didn’t see anything. I didn’t have any special filters, so I had to wait until sunset to get a picture. Still, Venus should have been near the edge of the disk but not gone by then, and it’s big enough that it should have shown up even with my little camera. But no. There was nothing there. I’m not sure why. But it was a very clear day, so maybe the sun was still too bright for my camera’s sensors and Venus just got washed out. Nonetheless, according to the LA Times, if I’d been able to see anything, Venus would have been about where I put it.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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