Monthly Archives: October 2019

General Astronomy, Solar System, Star Parties

Mercury Transit Across the Sun (November 11, 2019)

by Jim Knoll

Monday November 11, 2019 (Veterans Day). This is a school holiday and a work holiday for many. Don’t pass up this “seldom-in-a-lifetime event”. A Mercury Transit (passing in front of) will NOT be visible again in the U.S. until May 7, 2049. Transits occur only 13-14 times per century. A Mercury Transit is too small to see without a properly filtered solar telescope. When you observe a transit, you see a small black circle (the planet Mercury) moving across the Sun. This event is visible throughout the U.S. TAAA will have several solar telescopes to safely view the Transit at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park (3482 E River Rd, River & Alvernon) on November 11 from 7:30 – 11 am (Mercury mid-transit when it is crossing the middle of the Sun is at 8:20 am Tucson time).  Sunrise November 11 is 6:49 am and the Transit will already be underway. You can follow the Mercury Transit event on our Facebook page (facebook.com/tucsonastronomy) for real-time weather updates. This event requires a clear view of the Sun (no cloud cover). CAUTION: Never look at the Sun without a proper solar filter or you can damage your eyes.

For more information, email: astronomy-events@tucsonastronomy.org.

Visible light image of sun, with Venus transiting. The sun is a type yellow type G star approximately 4.5 billions years old with a life cycle of 10 billion years. NASA Image
Visible light image of sun, with Venus transiting. The sun is a type yellow type G star approximately 4.5 billions years old with a life cycle of 10 billion years.
NASA Image
32 inch Cassegrain Project, General Astronomy

Planets of the Month: OCTOBER 2019

by Erich Karkoschka

Planets for October 2019

planet-of-the-month-mercury Mercury is 7 degrees left and slightly above Venus for most of the month. During the last week of October, it moves below Venus. MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the transit of Mercury on November 11th.
planet-of-the-month-venus Venus is back in the evening sky visible before 6:30 pm.
planet-of-the-month-moon Shortly after New Moon, the Moon is near Venus on the 29th and near Jupiter on the 31st.
planet-of-the-month-mars Mars becomes visible again around the 19th during dawn. On the 26th it is 5 degrees below the thin lunar crescent.
planet-of-the-month-jupiter Jupiter shines above Antares in the southwest during the early evening. Its distance from Venus shrinks from 50 to 25 degrees
 planet-of-the-month-saturn  Saturn is 25 degrees to the east of Jupiter. By the end of the month only 20 degrees.
 planet-of-the-month-uranus  Uranus is in opposition on the 267th in Aries, visible with very good eyes.
 planet-of-the-month-neptune Neptune can be found with binoculars in Aquarius, 45 degrees west of Uranus.
 planet-of-the-month-meteor  The Orionids meteors are best visible during the morning of the 22nd.