May 9 2016 Outline A transit of Mercury is about to happen May 9 2016 Very rare event Visually impressive event Shows the solar system orbital mechanics at work A small version of the extremely rare Venus transit ID: 563962
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Slide1
Transit of Mercury
May 9, 2016Slide2
Outline
A transit of Mercury is
about to happen May 9, 2016
Very rare event
Visually impressive eventShows the solar system orbital mechanics at workA small version of the extremely rare Venus transitSt. John’s is very favoured for this eventBest Mercury transit for the next 50 yearsThis presentation will outline how transits work and give observation details and local circumstances for St. John’sSlide3
What is a transit?
When observing a celestial body partially cover a second bodyIf that celestial body fully covers the second body, then this is an
occultation
Many examples
Transit of Mercury/VenusTransit of a Galilean satellite and/or its shadow on Jupiter’s discTransit of ISS in front of the Moon/SunOn Mars, transit of
Phobos
/Deimos
in front of the Sun
An exoplanet transiting a starSlide4Slide5Slide6Slide7Slide8
Possible natural transits seen from Earth
From Earth, only possible planetary transits in front of the Sun are Mercury and VenusAlso possible for a planet to transit another planet
Exceptionally rare
Last was in 1818 (Venus transited Jupiter)
Next is in 2065 (Venus will transit Jupiter)Annular solar eclipses are technically a transitAsteroids transiting stars or planetsSlide9
Mercury and Venus Transits
Very rare eventsMercury transits:13 or 14 times per century
Always in May or
November
Venus transits: Pairs separated by more than a centuryAlways in June or DecemberSlide10
Orbital conditions for Mercury transit
First requirement: inferior conjunctionSlide11
Orbital conditions for Mercury transit
Second requirement: Mercury at nodeSlide12
Mercury transit characteristics
November transitsRecur in periods of 7, 13 and 33 yearsMercury is smaller at 10’’
May transits
Recur in periods of 13 and 33 years
Mercury is larger at 12’’Largest disk this transit for the next 50 years (12.1’’)Slide13
Future Mercury transits
Table 4: Transits of Mercury: 2001-2100
Date
Universal Time
Separation
2003 May 07
07:52
708"
2006 Nov 08
21:41
423"
2016 May 09
14:57
319"
2019 Nov 11
15:20
76"
2032 Nov 13
08:54
572"
2039 Nov 07
08:46
822"
2049 May 07
14:24
512"
2052 Nov 09
02:30
319"
2062 May 10
21:37
521"
2065 Nov 11
20:07
181"
2078 Nov 14
13:42
674"
2085 Nov 07
13:36
718"
2095 May 08
21:08
310"
2098 Nov 10
07:18
215"Slide14
VisibilitySlide15
Transit events
External ingressInternal ingressGreatest transit
Internal egress
External egressSlide16
Local circumstances
May 9, 2016Events for St. John’s in local time:Contact I (external ingress):
8:43:17
Contact II (internal ingress):
8:46:29Greatest transit: 12:27:22Contact III (internal egress): 16:07:47Contact IV (external egress): 16:10:59Total duration: about 7½ hoursSlide17
Observing the event
Need a telescope with proper solar filter (white light, H
α
, etc.)
Very important to use safe filter, as with any solar observation!Sun’s apparent diameter is about 30’Mercury’s apparent diameter is about 12’’So Mercury’s disc will be 1/158 that of the Sun!Need 50-100X in a telescope for good observationGreat photo op!If lucky, Mercury may pass over or near a sunspot or over prominence
Watch for black drop effect during ingress and egressSlide18
Weather prospects
Weather prospects: St. John’sMay 9, past 30 years, 7.5-hour period
Cloudy: 27%
Mostly cloudy: 27%
Mostly clear: 37%Clear: 10%AlsoSnow: 10%Glorious (20+ C and sunny): 13%Slide19
Some hype
Very rare eventGreat opportunity if you missed Venus transitSt. John’s is extremely well placed
Best location in North America
One of the best locations in the world
Good weather prospectsIt’s a May transit so Mercury is bigger and weather is warmerBest transit for the next 50 yearsRASC event?Slide20
Thanks!
Clear skies!Any questions?