Today Mercury will transit the disk of the Sun, a fairly rare and interesting phenomenon. It ends after sunset for those on the East Coast, but the whole transit will be visible in the West. Unlike the previous one that I watched in 1999, this time Mercury will cross the disk of the Sun not far from the center.
Here is the approximate time table (all times EST):
Begins at 14:12
Middle at 16:40
Ends at 19:10
You will need a telescope with a filter to observe it safely. DON"T EVEN THINK about looking at the Sun through a telescope without a proper filter! All you need is a tenth of second for permanent eye damage! Many local astronomy clubs, universities, and observatories will have open houses for the public to view it.
More details here and on many other web sites.
Some advice for those who don't have aluminized kevlar or glass filters: you can get a fairly good view by projecting the unfiltered image from a telescope onto a white (or even gray) screen. Works very well.
Here is the approximate time table (all times EST):
Begins at 14:12
Middle at 16:40
Ends at 19:10
You will need a telescope with a filter to observe it safely. DON"T EVEN THINK about looking at the Sun through a telescope without a proper filter! All you need is a tenth of second for permanent eye damage! Many local astronomy clubs, universities, and observatories will have open houses for the public to view it.
More details here and on many other web sites.
Some advice for those who don't have aluminized kevlar or glass filters: you can get a fairly good view by projecting the unfiltered image from a telescope onto a white (or even gray) screen. Works very well.
Facebook
Twitter