Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Transit of Mercury

Doctor Q

Doctor Q

Administrator
Original poster
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
40,495
9,482
Los Angeles
This coming Wednesday (November 8, 2006), Mercury will pass in front of the sun. This is called a Transit of Mercury, and it happens, on average, only about once a decade. The last one was May 2003. The next one will be May 2016.

The transit will take place mid-day Pacific Time (11:12AM to 4:10PM). The best viewing will be over the Pacific ocean and its shores, including the Western U.S., eastern Asia, and our friends in Australia and New Zealand.

You'll need a telescope and the right eye protection to see it. Better yet, watch a webcast.

See details here.

Note: MacRumors will not be switching to macrumorslive to cover this event, but I think it's worth following anyway. ;)
 
Make sure you also use left eye protection if you plan to look at it with that eye.

Very cool...I don't have a telescope to look at it myself, but I'm sure there will be some cool pictures around the web afterwards.
 
This stresses me out mildly, if only because it makes me wonder about where the hell I'll be in 2016. If I'm still teaching these kids, I'm gonna freak out.

I hope MR is still around in 2016. I mean, it could survive nuclear war, right?
 
Wow, thanks for that. Luckily, that day I'll visiting a guy with two solar telescopes. What a nice coincidence! :D

Although I'm sure I'll also be watching the feed from Kitt Peak (a place I am quite familiar with, but unfortunately have never visited :().
 
thedude110 said:
This stresses me out mildly, if only because it makes me wonder about where the hell I'll be in 2016. If I'm still teaching these kids, I'm gonna freak out.
Click to expand...
Don't worry. If you are in an asylum in 2016, you can wait for the Transit of Mercury in 2019.

I hope MR is still around in 2016. I mean, it could survive nuclear war, right?
Click to expand...
Yes, of course. MacRumors and its members are just like cockroaches. :cool:
 
If you wear welding goggles (usually used for Oxy-acetylene) and a welding mask (various types of arc welding) together, you can look at the sun. BEWARE though, it requires certain tints on the lenses, and I don't remember the numbers offhand.
 
thedude110 said:
This stresses me out mildly, if only because it makes me wonder about where the hell I'll be in 2016. If I'm still teaching these kids, I'm gonna freak out.

I hope MR is still around in 2016. I mean, it could survive nuclear war, right?
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? With an avatar like that, you'll be the first to go! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back