The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#1

Post by bharatsb » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 3:30 AM UTC

The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours
solarsystem.nasa.gov

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#2

Post by starpilot » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 3:20 AM UTC

To get you warmed up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amh9uQNwWyA

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#3

Post by ColinWright » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 3:37 AM UTC

  12:35Z : Starts
  15:20Z : Mid-point
  18:04Z : Ends

Gutted to be missing this ... it's been in my diary for years.

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#4

Post by rococode » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:09 AM UTC

Here's a list of past/future times for this transit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Mercury#Past_and_fu...

It looks like the next one visible from anywhere (but presumably not in the US) will be in 2032

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#5

Post by throwaway35784 » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:21 AM UTC

Will a welding mask work?

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#6

Post by tinix » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:25 AM UTC

throwaway35784 wrote: post #5

Will a welding mask work?

you need a high shade, at least 14.

just get a stack of neutral density filters, and some IR/UV block filters, and use a camera... you'll need magnification anyway.

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#7

Post by ranger207 » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:26 AM UTC

throwaway35784 wrote: post #5

Will a welding mask work?

That's what I used for the transit of Venus, along with some binoculars. Make sure the glass is dark enough of course.

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#8

Post by njarboe » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:28 AM UTC

Weird how the top of this page says the transit is on November 11th, but the side bar and main description section have it as November 12th. From the site rococode linked to, it is November 11, but it is a bit strange for NASA to have this wrong and inconsistent on its site. I hope to get a look tomorrow if the sky is clear.

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#9

Post by sytelus » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:48 AM UTC

throwaway35784 wrote: post #5

Will a welding mask work?

Just look for any local astronomy groups doing public viewing event. Even the medium-size cities have such gatherings.

Re: The transit of Mercury starts at 7:35 am ET and will last for 5.5 hours

#10

Post by faggotVote » Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 5:50 AM UTC

Hey, let's just downvote faggots because faggots.