Rare Mercury Transit To Occur On 9th May
On May 9, 2016, the Earth will once again witness the rare “Mercury Transitâ€. A Mercury transit occurs when Mercury comes in between the Earth and the Sun. This would lead to Mars appearing as a tiny black spot, whereas the Sun would shine in the background, making the impact visible from the USA at 7:12 a.m., as reported by NASA. Due to the extremely tiny size, in order to observe the transit with adequate precautions, it is necessary to either use a telescope or a binocular filled with solar filters.
Mercury transit at varying time
The last time we got to observe this unique celestial spectacle was on 8th November 2006 and occurs about thirteen times a century. Transits of Mercury are more common than that of Venus, due to its closer proximity with the Sun, as compared to Venus. On June 3, 2014 the Mars Rover ‘Curiosity’ had witnessed the Mercury transit from the surface of Mars, in what was the first instance of a planetary transit being observed from a planet other than Earth.
To celebrate this relatively rare celestial phenomenon, NASA has invited media and the public to gather at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland for the event. NASA’s early press release confirms that the planet will take a total of 7.5 hours to cover the visible trajectory after the aforementioned time corresponding to the Eastern United States. The people living on the west would see it after sunrise.
The transit effect bears enormous importance in the context of astronomical history as it gives birth to a very large example of parallax. Depending on the geographical location on the Earth, the apparent position of Mercury changes revealing the effect of parallax. Significantly, this has also given rise to the formula needed to derive the distance between Earth and the Sun or that of the Sun and other planets. The next Mercury transit would be observed on Nov 11, 2019.
Watch 2016 Mercury Transit Path:
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
Mercury transit at varying time
To celebrate this relatively rare celestial phenomenon, NASA has invited media and the public to gather at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland for the event. NASA’s early press release confirms that the planet will take a total of 7.5 hours to cover the visible trajectory after the aforementioned time corresponding to the Eastern United States. The people living on the west would see it after sunrise.
The transit effect bears enormous importance in the context of astronomical history as it gives birth to a very large example of parallax. Depending on the geographical location on the Earth, the apparent position of Mercury changes revealing the effect of parallax. Significantly, this has also given rise to the formula needed to derive the distance between Earth and the Sun or that of the Sun and other planets. The next Mercury transit would be observed on Nov 11, 2019.
Watch 2016 Mercury Transit Path:
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
Replies
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Ramani AswathCAUTION
I strongly advise great care. I remember setting up my telescope in 1969 at Bangalore to watch a solar event by projecting the image on the roof. My little nephew barged in and peeked into the eyepiece. I was too far from him to prevent him I just jumped up and caught the window sill and hung there so that my shadow covered the main mirror. He would have been permanently blinded.
I would suggest view a projected image rather than a direct view.
You are reading an archived discussion.
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