The Transit of Mercury — watch it live

2019-11-07 00:00:00
The Transit of Mercury — watch it live
On 11 November 2019, a rare astronomical event is taking place: the transit of Mercury. IEEC’s research unit Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICC) from the University of Barcelona (UB) invites you to watch the live broadcast of the event at the following link. The broadcast will start at local time 13:35.

From Earth’s perspective, Mercury crosses in front of the Sun only 13 times during a century. The next transit will happen on 13 November 2032.

Among all planets in the solar system, only Mercury and Venus, as they are closer to the Sun than Earth, can transit in front of the Sun from our point of view. Although it is not as spectacular as an eclipse, planetary transits have been very important during the history of astronomy, as they were used to determine the distance to the Sun for the first time. 

For the event in 2019, ICCUB has prepared a series of outreach events. Aside from the webcast, pre-registered groups and individuals will be able to observe the transit with telescopes placed at Palau Reial, Diagonal Avenue, while Physics students are invited to observe the event on the roof of the faculty.

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