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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.'"
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"
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?
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