{"id":17888,"date":"2019-11-08T18:26:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T10:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/watch-mercury-move-across-the-sun-online-or-in-the-sky-if-youre-lucky-and-careful\/"},"modified":"2019-11-08T18:26:27","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T10:26:27","slug":"watch-mercury-move-across-the-sun-online-or-in-the-sky-if-youre-lucky-and-careful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/watch-mercury-move-across-the-sun-online-or-in-the-sky-if-youre-lucky-and-careful\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Mercury move across the sun online \u2014 or in the sky, if you\u2019re lucky and careful"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Transit
A multiple-exposure image from NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury\u2019s track across the sun\u2019s disk in 2016. (NASA \/ GSFC \/ SDO Image \/ Genna Duberstein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The planets will be aligned on Monday for a rare astronomical event known as the transit of Mercury, and skywatching fans are sure to see it even if the skies are cloudy, thanks to this little thing called the internet.<\/p>\n

For folks in Western Washington, watching the action online will be the best bet when the tiny black dot of Mercury\u2019s disk crosses the sun. Mercury will make its first contact at 4:35 a.m. PT, when the skies will still be dark in Seattle. It\u2019ll be another two and a half hours before the sun creeps over the Cascades. By that time, the transit will be almost half-done.<\/p>\n

Even then, the weather forecast calls for clouds that could well obscure the view for the rest of the transit, which ends at 10:04 a.m. PT.<\/p>\n

Clouds won\u2019t be a problem for NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamics Observatory, however. From its vantage point in space, SDO will be beaming back high-resolution, multi-wavelength views of the sun with Mercury\u2019s speck, and NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center will be posting those views online.<\/p>\n

Here on Earth, several video streams will be running, courtesy of the Slooh online observatory, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, TimeAndDate.com, Britain\u2019s Royal Observatory and the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0.<\/p>\n

\"\"
This chart shows the track that Mercury will follow during Monday\u2019s transit. (NASA \/ JPL-Caltech Graphic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the heavens part in Seattle, there are ways to watch the transit happen in the sky. One sure way not<\/strong> to do it is to try looking directly at the sun with your unprotected eyes. That can do serious eye damage. Mercury\u2019s speck is so small, and the atmospheric conditions are likely to be so dicey, that it\u2019s hardly worth making the attempt even if you\u2019re using the solar-filter glasses you saved from 2017\u2019s eclipse.<\/p>\n

A better bet would be to use binoculars or a telescope properly equipped with solar filters. Some of those viewing aids are custom-made with the filters, and you might be able to pick them up over the weekend at a well-equipped telescope or camera store if you\u2019re so inclined.<\/p>\n

There are also solar filters that fit over the front lenses of binoculars, or attach onto the barrel of a telescope. But don\u2019t try looking at the sun through plain old binoculars or a telescope eyepiece, even if you\u2019re wearing the eclipse glasses. The concentrated sunlight could burn right through the filter.<\/p>\n

For an easy and sociable way to watch the transit in person, find a viewing party. Greg Scheiderer\u2019s Seattle Astronomy blog lists several, including a gathering that he\u2019s planning to host at Seacrest Marina Park in West Seattle at 7 a.m. PT Monday (weather permitting). Other shindigs are being set up at Pierce College in Lakewood, and at the Goldendale Observatory near the Columbia River Gorge.<\/p>\n