Solar Telescope Required To View Rare ‘Mercury In Transit’ Monday

Don’t try to see Mercury in transit by looking directly at the sun; you’ll seriously damage your eyes, and Mercury’s voyage between the Earth and sun Monday can’t be seen with the naked eye.

ARIZONA – Monday Nov. 11 is not only Veteran’s Day, it’s also one of only 13 times every 100 years that Mercury crosses between the Earth and the sun. Don’t attempt to look directly at the sun to see Mercury in transit, though, as doing so causes serious eye damage. Also, Mercury is so small that its passing cannot be observed with the naked eye. Instead, a solar-filter telescope is required, available at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University that morning. Mercury's transit can also be viewed live online Monday morning.

Of the major planets, Mercury is the smallest. In 88 days it orbits the sun, which is 36 million miles from it. After Monday’s occurrence, the next Mercury transit happens in 2032, but those of us in the United States won’t be able to see it because of its location on the Earth’s other side. That means the next Mercury transit observable in the U.S. happens in 2039, according to a report from KTAR.

Monday’s Mercury transit phenomenon can be viewed free at the University of Arizona’s Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium using a solar telescope from 7 to 11 a.m. During telescope viewing hours, Flandrau will also play a live Mercury transit broadcast from NASA between the planetarium’s scheduled shows. Admission is free Nov. 11 from 7 a.m. to noon. Discounted $5 rates apply after noon, but attendees with a military ID get in free all day Nov. 9-11 and get one free planetarium show on those days too.

Phoenix metro area residents are also in luck, as azcentral.com reported Arizona State University’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team will have solar-suitable telescopes too that visitors can use from 9 to 11 a.m. to see Mercury’s transit. Informational handouts, posters and maps will be distributed by experts on the phenomenon too. Look for the telescopes on the Tempe campus, west of the Memorial Union.

Mercury in transit will also be broadcast live online Monday morning courtesy of The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 and the Griffith Observatory.