Posted on 11/03/2019 6:29:49 PM PST by BenLurkin
NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. SPECIAL GLASSES OR FILTER WILL BE NEEDED TO VIEW.
Just like the solar eclipse in 2017, special glasses or filters will be required to view the transit. Since Mercury is so small, however, you will also need binoculars or a telescope to view. Use extreme caution when using magnification to look at the sun. If using binoculars or a telescope, make sure the proper solar film is installed on the front lens, not the eyepiece for safe viewing. An even safer way to view the sun is to project the image on to something.
(Excerpt) Read more at clickorlando.com ...
It’s a good time to be an eye specialist. “Hey everyone: make sure to see the transit of Mercury across the sun this November 11. Use a telescope. No eye protection required. Call me if you experience any vision loss. Have insurance information ready”.
It’s not fast. 5.5 hours.
Local Type: Mercury Transit, in Nashville
Begins: Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 6:36 am
Midpoint: Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 9:20 am
Ends: Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 12:04 pm
Duration: 5 hours, 28 minutes
I assume that the solar eclipse glasses will work for this?
I dunno.
But mamma, that's where the fun is."
The Sun? What is it?
A great big fireball in the middle of our solar system, but that’s not important right now.
Use the eclipse sunglasses left over from 2017...
Will be hard to watch from the sailboat as we move south on the ICW, but, I do still have my solar glasses from the 2017 eclipse, so, I am gonna try!
I assume that the solar eclipse glasses will work for this?
Solar glasses are pretty much worthless for watching solar transits. The planet will appear as a tiny, tiny black dot, if you see it at all. Do NOT try to use the solar glasses with binoculars or a telescope, as they will melt or burn. You need a solar filter that goes on the front, objective lens of the binos or scope. Through binos, the planet may appear as a tiny disk. Higher magnification will increase the size of the disk, but there is no detail on the planet or the sun. Just a big white disk with a tiny black disk passing in front of it.
You will have to spend hundreds, if not thousands on a filter to see more.
Will a Shade 14 welding filter be safe? AWS spec says Shade 14 is safe for carbon arc processes.
I have a solar filer (white light) for my 12.5 dob, but, it’s in storage. I could get a glass solar filter for the front of my 5 in refractor I have on the boat, but, we’ll be moving. They aren’t that expensive. My astronomy club has several solar scopes also, but, I won’t be home to join in with them. A good PST scope is 5 to 6 hundred dollars.
You would be surprised at how big the planet is against the Sun. Other Mercury transits I have seen were really good with the glasses (the one back in the 90s was really nice but we were eaten alive by gnats)
Venus transit are even better, but, I missed the second one back in 2010? The previous one, early 2000s?, Venus was bigger than any Sunspot I had ever seen.
I use the dark green glass shield you use in a welders mask. Works just fine.
I wouldn’t be surprised if NASA showed the transit, either online or on NASA TV. Or both. I’m pretty sure that’s where I watched the last couple eclipses and other cool solar events.
And you don’t have to worry about harming your eyes watching your computer screen. Well, no more so than normal.
A number #14 filter is safe, so they say. I had a lower number one for the 2017 solar eclipse, but it was a little too bright, and I couldn’t get a #14 in time. So I played it safe and only watched the full eclipse. Don’t mess with your eyes—they’re the only ones you’ll ever have.
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