Transit of Mercury observation on May 9th [NOT TRANSLATED]

2016-04-27 00:00:00

On Monday May 9th Mercury will transit the Sun. For seven hours its silhouette will be projected on the bright disk of the Sun. The Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) , the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (IEEC-UB) and the department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics of the UB have organized various activities to observe the transit of Mercury.

Transits of Mercury across the Sun occur about 14 times a century and occur when the orbit of the planet Mercury crosses the Earth’s orbit. This occurs in May and November. The main difference between the two seasons is that in May transits, Mercury is closer to the Earth and its diameter is somewhat greater than during November transits.

Transit of Venus 2012. Credit: Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CISC)

To observe the transit of Mercury is necessary to use a telescope because direct observation of the sun can be harmful to the human eye

The Institute of Cosmos Sciences (IEEC-UB) will broadcast the transit through the website ServiAstro where you will find more information about the event.

Observation at telescope

But if you want to observe the transit with a telescope, the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) has several telescopes at its facilities on the Campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona from which they will project the sun’s image on a screen and will provide homologated glasses to see the phenomenon live and safely. Moreover, the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (IEEC-UB) will install two telescopes in front of the Palau Reial in Barcelona to observe the transit

For more information on activities you will find it on the website of the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) and the ServiAstro [NOT TRANSLATED]