The planet Mercury will appear to transit the Sun on 2016 MAY 09 for the first time since 2006 and the last time until 2019. The transit will last over seven hours, and at least portions of it will be visible from almost everywhere except Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the islands between them.
This is a telescopic event, but great care must be taken to protect eyes from instantaneous blinding. If uncertain, then view with someone who knows how to properly prepare a telescope with filters or project the image onto a screen.
I’ve created preview charts for the event. One is from a geocentric perspective with Mercury appearing to traverse the Sun in a straight line. Another 44 are specific for various locations on the surface of the Earth. The Earth’s rotation results in an apparent curved path for Mercury. The parallax effect accounts for slightly different timings among the various locations.
The charts can be viewed at www.CurtRenz.com/mertran.html
Photos and descriptions of the event would be welcome additions to this thread.
This is a telescopic event, but great care must be taken to protect eyes from instantaneous blinding. If uncertain, then view with someone who knows how to properly prepare a telescope with filters or project the image onto a screen.
I’ve created preview charts for the event. One is from a geocentric perspective with Mercury appearing to traverse the Sun in a straight line. Another 44 are specific for various locations on the surface of the Earth. The Earth’s rotation results in an apparent curved path for Mercury. The parallax effect accounts for slightly different timings among the various locations.
The charts can be viewed at www.CurtRenz.com/mertran.html
Photos and descriptions of the event would be welcome additions to this thread.
