I attach a media release on the Transit of Mercury on November 9.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU MENTION THAT IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH BINOCULARS OR A TELESCOPE
WITHOUT A PROPER FILTER. Blindness can (and does) occur.
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Carter Observatory
The National Observatory of New Zealand
MEDIA RELEASE
(Date November 3. For immediate release)
The Transit of Mercury on November 9
The whole of the transit of Mercury on November 9 will be visible from New Zealand. Its duration is slightly under 5
hours, starting at ~08 12 and finishing at ~13 10. A transit is when a planet, in this case Mercury (and occasionally
Venus) passes in front of the Sun. Mercury will enter the disk of the Sun to the right rim or about 3 o’clock on a clock
face and leave the Sun’s face towards the left rim.
The diameter of the Sun, as we see it, is ½° but Mercury is only ~10 seconds of arc or 180 times smaller. For this
reason a small telescope fitted with a solar filter, will be needed to “view” the event.
Brian Carter, Senior Astronomer at Carter Observatory says, “It is imperative that you do not look directly at the Sun
though binoculars or a telescope as very serious eye damage will occur. To observe the Sun safely the telescope needs to
be fitted with a special solar filter or the image needs to be projected onto a white card”.
The Earth orbits the Sun once a year. Mercury orbits closer to the Sun so its orbit is much shorter than the Earths. In
addition Mercury is travelling faster than the Earth, which means that it orbits the Sun every 88 days or put simply its
year is only 88 days. Both planets are travelling in the same direction around the Sun, which means that Mercury
‘overtakes on the inside’ 3 or sometimes 4 times a year. Because Mercury’s orbit is slightly tilted to that of the
Earth’s, we do not get to view a transit every time. It usually passes to the North (below) or to the South (above) of
the Sun. All Mercury transits occur in either May or November as these are the months when the planes of the orbits of
the Earth and Mercury cross.
There are only 14 transits of Mercury in the twenty first century. The next Mercury transit that can be fully seen from
New Zealand is in 2052 November (although some areas in New Zealand will see the very end and the very beginning of the
transits in 2019 and 2032 respectively).
The Carter Observatory will be open for viewing of the event from about 8 am. We will use solar filters to SAFELY view
the transit. This always assumes that the weather conditions are favourable and the sky is not cloudy.
Auckland’s Stardome will be running SAFE observing sessions and it is probably that local astronomical societies and
observatories around the country will also be in operation, so please contact your local facility.
ENDS
www.CarterObservatory.org