Kategorie: Sternenhimmel

Die Mondfinsternis am 21. Februar 2008 spielte sich vielerorts leider hinter einer dichten Wolkendecke ab. Einige Sterngucker hatten jedoch Glück und konnten den roten Mond fotografieren. Eine schöne Auswahl an Bildern gibt es z.B. auf SpaceWeather.com sowie in zwei Photo-Pools bei Flickr zu sehen: hier und hier.

A rare passage of Mercury in front of the Sun as seen from Earth will take place on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. The last time such a transit of Mercury occurred was in 2003 and it will not reoccur until 2016. Mercury will appear as a tiny black circle just 1/200th the width of the Sun. It will take almost five hours for Mercury’s orbital motion to carry it completely across the Sun from Earth’s point of view. Mercury’s transit on November 8 will be visible from a broad swath of Earth that includes the Americas, Australia and eastern Asia. It will not be visible in Europe, Africa or the Middle East. Mercury will start moving across the Sun’s face at 19:12 GMT. For observers in the Americas, the Sun will set before Mercury finishes its transit, except for those on the west coast of North America. For observers in eastern Asia and most of Australia, the transit will already be underway by the time the Sun rises. Mercury will leave the Sun’s face at 00:10 GMT on Friday. Observing the transit will require a telescope or binoculars and special precautions – looking directly at the Sun can cause permanent vision damage!
Here you can view the transit live online:
http://annex.exploratorium.edu/transit/