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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Join the Chicago Astronomer at the 606 Bloomingdale Trail for the Rare Mercury Transit

Monday 09 May 2016

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

About 13 times a century, the planet Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun, creating a silhouette of it's disk against the face of our closest star.  The last time this occurred was in November of 2006...and our next Mercury Transit event will be this Monday, the 9th of May...

The Chicago Astronomer crew will be on hand to share this event with our fans and friends at the 606 Bloomingdale Trail Observation site at 1801 N Ridgeway Ave...

The 606 Trail website

We will have Astronomers and telescopes set-up with solar filters to safely follow along with Mercury as it slowly crosses the Sun...with bus loads of school children to share this event with us...

NOTE: Solar gazing is a dangerous activity if not properly trained and equipped. 

DO NOT observe this event with unfiltered or improperly covered telescopes/binoculars.  Only share this event with Astronomers with properly equipped optics.  

(All Chicago Astronomer solar events are perfectly safe and secure.)

The entire Mercury Transit event will start at 6:10 am to end at about 1:44 pm Chicago time...

The Chicago Astronomer will be on-site to guide our visitors at the 606 Trail from 

9:00 am to 2:00 pm 

What our visitors will view in this rare event will be the Mercurian disk slowly glide across the face of the Sun...

We may get some nice Sunspot activity during this session as well.


Some background on Mercury...

Mercury, is tiny compared to the Earth...

The Mercury Transit has to do with the inner orbit of the planet in relation to the orbit of the Earth - orbiting in a quick 88 days...

When the alignment is just right, we observe a silhouette disk.  But this does not happen every 88 days, because the orbit of Mercury is tilted 7 degrees in relation to the Ecliptic plane of planets...

Orbital mechanics are steady and astronomers are able to predict Transits hundreds of years in advance.  Astronomers all over the world anticipate Transits of Mercury and Venus...look for the 3rd and 4th egress event and the "Tear Drop" effect...

All events at the 606 Trail are free and open to all....and free parking!

Take the day off and join the Chicago Astronomer, the Chicago Park District and
The Trust for the Public Land for this very rare astronomical event.

(Check this thread and Chicago Astronomer social media feeds for update on weather conditions for a Go/No-Go status)

The next Mercury Transit will be in November 2019...The Chicago Astronomer will be waiting...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

UPDATE:

Weather does not look promising anywhere in the Mid-West for the Mercurian Transit event.

But....

The Chicago Astronomer will still set-up Telescopes even if cloudy, to Meet and Greet 606 Trail Visitors.  Rain or the great threat of rain will cancel this event.

Stay tuned for updates.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

UPDATE:

Scrubbed...

The Chicago Astronomer Mercurian Transit Observation event is cancelled due to weather conditions.

It is sprinkling as I post this and the forecasts calls for more rain later in the day.  The chance of catching a break in the clouds is slim and the falling precipitation clinches the decision to cancel.  The Midwest is socked in with heavy clouds and no chance for a clearing.

We are working on a make-up session in the near future - most likely a solar session for our 606 Trail visitors on a pleasant Sunday morning.

We still have our Chicago Astronomer Night Time Observation session at the 606 on the 2nd Fridays of each month - and our next scheduled star party will be on the 13th of May.

Stay tuned.