If there's a clear view of the Sun on Monday afternoon and you have the appropriate viewing equipment (i.e. a solar scope or suitable filters for your scope) then the transit of Mercury might be worth catching.
Details from Sky at Night (https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/transit-mercury-11-november-2019-what-how-see/)
...and from Sky and Telescope (https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/dont-miss-mondays-rare-transit-of-mercury/)
Also https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/transit/2019-november-11
A video talking about the transit (and other things): https://youtu.be/Rm520CkqoLM
If anybody is interested, what do members think about going down to the field behind the Otford Village Memorial Hall for a look through telescopes or binoculars ... with appropriate filters .. this coming Monday afternoon, providing the weather is kind to us?
We could meet about 15.00 hrs and see what we can see. Just let me know if you fancy this additional Observing event. PM me.
Cheers Doug.
Hello Everyone,
Just had a chat with Doug and rather than go to the field at Otford, everyone is welcome to come and view the transit from our front garden from 2.00pm. Hot drinks, cake and chance to warm up etc provided : )
If you do not have our address please send a message and we will send it to you. We are near Aldi and Sainsbury's, off the Otford Road.
Fingers crossed for clear skies, Sue and Roy.
Just to add, we plan to have out the 102mm scope with white light filter and the society 60mm Coronado both on driven mounts.
Here the forecast is for a little sunshine later in the afternoon. I hope you get some rather better weather.
Thank you Rick. Will you have your scope out?
If there's a break in the clouds nearer noon, yes. The sun disappears behind the woods quite a while before sunset at this time of year, so I'd have to be somewhere else to see it later. Might happen...
I think we should be able to follow progress until about 15.30 but then will loose the sun behind the houses opposite, weather permitting of course!
I'm hoping for a sunny spell between the shower clouds here. Transit should start at 12:55CET. Thats in two minutes and its not looking hopeful :{
Lots of cloud but just seen it :) :)
Fresh off the camera - image taken by resting a Panasonic DMC-LX5 compact camera inside the eyepiece eye cup, then using a shutter 10 second delay. Mercury is just visible slightly above the centre of the Sun.
Roy
(http://gallery.orpington-astronomy.org.uk/albums/userpics/10061/normal_Transit_of_Mercury_01L.jpg)
Well done!
Well done Roy. Why didn't you use your DSLR?
Carole
Carole,
Because it's unmodified and therefore has the correct colour balance, I wanted to use my Nikon DSLR rather than the Canon, but for reasons that would take too long to explain here I wasn't able to mount it on the telescope. Plus Rose, Doug and David had come to join us so time was limited.
I spent most of last night do observing despite the virtually full moon, but just for a laugh I tried the same trick as I used earlier with the Panasonic poked inside the eye cup of and eye piece to take a picture of M42. Suffice it to say it wasn't very successful....
Roy
Well done Roy!
Spent two hours dodging clouds and trying to get a small camera to focus (unsuccessfully). So didn't actually see anything. Managed to spot it (just) with binoculars, but no image.
Noel
I wasn't able to combine clear skies and access to my scope well enough to see anything, unfortunately. Glad someone got a photo! Well done! :)
The Register mentions the transit here:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/12/mercury_sun_transit_video/
Quote from: Roy on Nov 12, 2019, 09:28:08
I spent most of last night do observing despite the virtually full moon, but just for a laugh I tried the same trick as I used earlier with the Panasonic poked inside the eye cup of and eye piece to take a picture of M42. Suffice it to say it wasn't very successful....
Roy
There is just a few more photons from the sun than M42 :roll:,a great transit image though ,
Roger
Excellent! Very well done!
Mark
I was scuppered by one of next doors enormous pine trees which was right in the way of first contact. then the clouds rolled in :( 2032?