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2003 Transit of Mercury
angkor writes "It is happening today (all day in Asia)!
NASA's SOHO page, Fred Espenak's 'Transit of Mercury' site, and live webcasts of the transit. You'll want to use the webcast, in spite of advice from our hometown paper, the Bangkok Post, which reported 'those interested in viewing it directly were advised to watch through black tinted glasses.'"
And hopefully they'll post the story just as timely next year.
but what do i know, i'm just a model.
No way. That's not nearly safe enough, project it onto a piece of white paper with a pinhole camera. Then you won't get the dark glasses obscuring your view, either. A little ingenuity often prevails over a little consumerism. ;)
I recall my first eclipse experience when I was in 3rd grade. All the windows were covered over, the curtains were drawn, and nobody was allowed outside. The school was sealed up tight. Observation areas were set up at some windows with a piece of welder's glass so students could take a peek at the eclipse.
We were of course warned that we shouldn't look at the sun during the eclipse, but the overall impression that most of my fellow students were left with was that being outside during an eclipse was dangerous, like somehow the sun had changed and the light would cause people to go blind or something.
Better to be safe than sorry I suppose, but I recall a few friends getting nervous during the next eclipse several years later.
"For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Long Words Bother Me"
Should have taken the class on a tour to a site with welding equipment. I had a great view of the recent eclipse through one of those welding shields or screens or whatever they are called. I also heard that staring at the eclipse by a reflection in a bucket of water would work nicely...
Hate me!
Hopefully someone can answer this litle question of mine.
Since Mercury orbits the sun in only 88 days, why can we see transists more often than about 13 times a century (according to space.com)?
Same thing with Venus, since it's in a orbit inside ours it must *at least* pass earth on the 'inside track' once a year. Is it because the orbits a slightly inclined or sometihng?
if (!signature) { throw std::runtime_error("No sig!"); }
Staring at the sun *is* more dangerous when there is an eclipse.
Confronted with the smaller amount of illumination from a crescent sun, one's pupils will dilate wider than they would when looking at a full sun. But, given fixed pupil size, the energy per sq. mm within the image of the sun on the retina is the same whether it full or a crescent.
So, wider pupils means greater energy per area on the retina (within the image of the sun), and so greater chance of damage to the retina in that area.
Note that when one stares at the sun, the image falls on the fovea, a part of the retina without which one cannot read or see in any great resolution.
...the overall impression that most of my fellow students were left with was that being outside during an eclipse was dangerous, like somehow the sun had changed and the light would cause people to go blind or something.
Your school should have made everyone read The Day of The Triffids
for the record, this is posted on /. before the event. See this link over at NASA.
Summary: Atlantic Ocean, eastern half of the US, eastern third of Canada see the whole thing. People in Europe and Africa see it at moonset, while those in the rest of US and Canada see it at moonrise.
To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
No living person has witnessed a Venus transit. The next one occurs June 8, 2004. If all goes well, on that day I'll be on a beach at a resort in Mauritius, with a video camera and a telescope, and I might actually succeed in capturing a DV stream. The weather prospects in Mauritius are not the best, but considering that the best prospects for clear skies are in Iran and Turkey, I'll take my chances in Mauritius.
Edith Keeler Must Die
but if the glass were 100% UV protected, then it should be fine.
Interesting note, Richard Feynman watched the first nuclear blast throuh car windows, which block UV.
The goggles they gave hime where to dark for his tastes.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on