On Wednesday, November 8, 2006 the planet Mercury will make a transit across the disk of the Sun as seen from Earth. This is a relatively rare event, occurring only about 13 times each century. The last such event viewed from Mankato was in 1999. (See image below.)
A transit of Mercury is difficult to observe because it involves seeing the tiny black disk of Mercury against the Sun's bright surface. Viewing the event requires a telescope to magnify the planet such that it can be seen, and also a safe method for observing the Sun. One may either project the Sun's image onto a screen or use a telescope with a good solar filter. A clear southwestern horizon is also essential, as the event takes place in the late afternoon.
Weather permitting, the MSU astronomers will set up telescopes to observe the transit from the patio on the second floor of Trafton Science Center, just south of C124 and just north of the Biology main office. The transit begins around 1:12 pm CST and will still be in progress at sunset. All interested persons are invited to stop by to see the event.
If skies are too cloudy to see the Sun, the transit will not be observed.
The 1999 Mercury Transit
