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

solarsystem.nasa.gov

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

#31

For the last transit of Venus I rigged up a pair of binoculars to project one sight onto some posterboard a few feet away for the entire duration. It was great, Venus was about the size of a dime on the image. That was with a crappy old pair of binoculars I didn’t care about one way or another. Now I have a nice pair, do I risk damaging them by doing this?

I did the same with an old clearance aisle 6” reflector scope. I was with my kids and explaining something to them when i caught a whiff if melting plastic.

Definitely potential for damage, esp with all of the elements in binocs.

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

#32
post #15
post #14

Interesting to think about where we'll be when this happens again in 2049. It's a difference of only 30 years. 30 years ago was 1989. Yet life today compared to then is simply alien - technology has impacted the way everyone and every thing exists. The first self-powered flight was in 1903. Man landed on the Moon just 66 years later. In one lifetime you went from being perpetually constrained to the surface to litera…

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

Well I had this kind of travel (no phone, no credit card just some cash and 1200 page lonely planet india book) in 2008 and 2010. Heck, 2 years ago I could still have the same when hiking through everest region, if i didn't pay for their wifi internet.

Its still out there if you accept taking a modest comfort hit. Just one tip - bring more cash than you expect, even with reserve

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

#33
post #21
post #14

Interesting to think about where we'll be when this happens again in 2049. It's a difference of only 30 years. 30 years ago was 1989. Yet life today compared to then is simply alien - technology has impacted the way everyone and every thing exists. The first self-powered flight was in 1903. Man landed on the Moon just 66 years later. In one lifetime you went from being perpetually constrained to the surface to litera…

It may happen, certainly will happen eventually, but every generation for the last 60 years has said the same (eg Space 1999, 2001 Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, etc) and as we inch ever closer we realise we are even further away than we first estimated. I guess it’s a bit like the Dunning-Kruger effect. That all said, the advent of the the web and “smart” devices have changed the world more significantly and in a shor…

I almost forgot about space 1999.

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

#34
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

I moved to Germany from the US, and I’d say that traveling is still very different from being at home in 2019. With regard to connection reducing the adventure when traveling, how connected you are at any time can be a choice. Sure, back in the day you had no life line. But to me it’s a bit like free solo climbing (no ropes) vs lead climbing. Free solo is max adventure but the consequences are higher. It’s your choic…

I don’t think the parent comment was saying that having a safety net is bad, just that it is different.

And having a safety net definitely changes the dynamic of travel. I can’t imagine not having my phone with me, especially on a journey. And that’s not bad.

I think we have collectively, unwittingly entered a transhuman state. Our phones are as much a part of us as anything else.

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

#35
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

I moved to Germany from the US, and I’d say that traveling is still very different from being at home in 2019. With regard to connection reducing the adventure when traveling, how connected you are at any time can be a choice. Sure, back in the day you had no life line. But to me it’s a bit like free solo climbing (no ropes) vs lead climbing. Free solo is max adventure but the consequences are higher. It’s your choic…

While you are not wrong, there is a big difference between choosing not to use something, vs not having the option to. You can get much more peace of mind in the latter, even thought the situation is the same.

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

#36
post #15
post #14

Interesting to think about where we'll be when this happens again in 2049. It's a difference of only 30 years. 30 years ago was 1989. Yet life today compared to then is simply alien - technology has impacted the way everyone and every thing exists. The first self-powered flight was in 1903. Man landed on the Moon just 66 years later. In one lifetime you went from being perpetually constrained to the surface to litera…

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

While I am not so old I remember a time before dialup, I definitely remember travelling without basically all the things that you mention here. To me, the more things have been said to change, the more they are exactly the same. Consider that perhaps a perceived difference lies mostly in the eye of the beholder.

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

#39
post #15
post #14

Interesting to think about where we'll be when this happens again in 2049. It's a difference of only 30 years. 30 years ago was 1989. Yet life today compared to then is simply alien - technology has impacted the way everyone and every thing exists. The first self-powered flight was in 1903. Man landed on the Moon just 66 years later. In one lifetime you went from being perpetually constrained to the surface to litera…

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

I remember black and white television, and CRT TV screens which shrunk and faded to little dots when shut off. I remember having one telephone in the house. I remember not having a computer in the house, then getting one (Sinclair ZX81). I too remember life before ATMs.

In all these cases, I was a kid - these memories are all from maybe the age of 3-4 through early teens. I never navigated adult life without understanding computers, although early adult life was without cell phone, without internet access, without email, etc.

What I do remember is watching people adjust to these things. They were a novelty, and in many cases, became expected/required for 'modern life'. I was an early adopter, so even watching people my own age was interesting because I could see people struggle with some tech or even concepts, and hearing peoples' descriptions of technology changes has been interesting (often based on rumor or just wrong).

re: being 'away' from home - in elementary school, we had a multi-week project to "plan a trip" - learning about maps, travel distance, budgeting for hotels, food, etc. We had to write away to AAA for maps and info, then plan out where we'd drive, where gas stations were, etc. That was a class project. Today, you literally get in a car and talk to a device (or the car) and say "give me directions to ...." some place halfway across the country, and you'll get accurate turn by turn directions, with live traffic updates, and you can find food/gas/shelter all while driving. Insane to think of those changes, but it's just 'normal' to my younger family.

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

#40
post #27
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember a world without the internet, without personal computers, without ATM machines. I am a member of the last generation (until the apocalypse) who will know what life was like without these things. Traveling was more of an adventure back then because you were pretty much cut off from home. Nowadays, being away is not so different from being at home. We may be living on the moon in 2049. Whether that represent…

Why not just turn off your phone while traveling, or leave it at home?

I'm not sure it's so much about communicating back home; I don't really stay in close touch with friends/family when I'm traveling.

(Business is a different matter. I can far better continue to work today as usual even if I'm on the other side of the planet than I could have in the next city a few decades ago.)

It's more that apps (maps, airlines, tripadvisor, restaurant/hotel sites, etc.) have really transformed travel to many places in a huge number of ways over just about the past 10 years. I can't say I would really give that up very willingly.

[Added: Though, if I'm being honest, I'd admit that expectations about being able to be reached and to reach others have shifted. When cell phones started to become popular, I sort of disliked how a lot of people increasingly assumed you could always call for help in an emergency. Today, if I were going to be in a remote area for an extended period by myself, I'd probably find it hard to justify not having a satellite messaging system.]

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