Guwahati, May 8: Those wishing to witness the rare and fascinating process of Mercury transiting across the sun, a celestial phenomenon that occurs once every dozen years or so, are in luck.
Officials at Guwahati Planetarium and Pragjyotish Amateur Astronomers’ Association are making preparations to help people see the phenomenon — which will be visible in the city tomorrow evening — from the vicinity of the planetarium. The Regional Science Centre will also facilitate the same on its premises.
“The rare celestial phenomenon will occur tomorrow with the planet Mercury passing over the disk of the sun from 4.40pm. Although the event will continue till midnight, from India it will be visible till sunset only. The event will also be widely visible from most of Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The next transit of Mercury visible from India will be occurring on November 13, 2032,” said Babul Chandra Bora, the curator of Guwahati Planetarium.
Bora said a transit takes place when the Earth and another planet (Mercury or Venus) and the sun line up at a narrow zone around the line of node on the planets’ orbits. Unlike solar eclipses that occur every year, transits are a rare phenomenon.
On an average, there are 13 transits of Mercury in each century. In comparison, transit of Venus occurs in pairs with more than a century separating each pair.
“But this event will be visible only with telescope/binoculars. Proper eye protection from the sun’s damaging light is absolutely necessary. Projecting the sun’s image on a screen or scientifically tested solar filter placed over the objective of telescope/binocular is safe. Observing the sun without using proper solar filters, whether it is by naked eye, binoculars or a telescope/finder scope of a telescope, will lead to permanent eye damage, possibly even total blindness,” Bora said.
The Regional Science Centre today organised a talk with a PowerPoint and video presentation in its auditorium hall for students, teachers and the general public.
Uday Narayan Deka,the secretary of the Pragjyotish Amateur Astronomers’ Association, Guwahati, was the guest lecturer on the occasion.
