One of the highlights in the astronomical calendar of events in 2019 will be the transit of Mercury taking place on the 11th November 2019 from 12:35pm (afternoon). The solar system’s innermost planet will pass in front of the Sun as seen from Earth and will be visible through solar telescopes as a “black dot” appearing to move across the face of our closest star. Although this event is not rare in astronomical terms there are only a few opportunities to see this during any human’s lifetime — the next chance will not come around until 2032!
This event can only be viewed using a specially designed solar telescope or a telescope that has the appropriate filters securely attached — never point an unfiltered telescope at the Sun. If you do not own such equipment your best opportunity to witness this event is to attend one of the events taking place around the country. We’ve listed the ones we know about here and will be adding more on the run up to the day itself. If you are hosting such an event please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to add feature it on our website! Clear skies!
Image credit: ESO/NASA/SOHO
Event map
No events found