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Transit of Mercury
November 11, 2019 @ 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
Free
Mercury will transit the Sun on Monday, November 11 for the first time since 2016.
Similar to solar eclipses, transits occur when a planet passes in front of the Sun, appearing as a small black dot moving across the Sun’s face. As seen from Earth, only transits of Mercury and Venus are visible. Transits are relatively rare, approximately 13 transits of Mercury occur every 100 years and only 2 transits of Venus occur in a repeating pattern with gaps of 105 and 121 years. The last transit of Venus was in 2012 and the next one will be in 2117.
Join students and faculty from the Department of Physics and Astronomy as we observe Mercury’s transit (weather permitting) through our solar telescopes. Telescopes will be on Meditation Walk between Science and Robinson Halls from 7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.