On 11th November we will be able to see the transit of Mercury. It can be seen from about 1:30 p.m. (CET) to the sunset. But what exactly is the transit? It's actually a phenomenon when a celestial body passes (transits) between the Earth and the Sun so we can see the celestial body – on Monday it will be Mercury – against the background of the solar disk.

Remember to be careful! You can't watch the Sun only with your eyes! You mustn't also do it with unsecured binoculars or telescopes. When you are watching it, you must have a special filter.

I encourage you to observe this because the next Mercury transit is going to happen in 13 years!

Of course, Mercury is too small to be visible with a naked eye. If you do not have access to an observatory or a telescope, you can admire the phenomenon in a digital observatory: Stellarium CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE

Zosia Polanek

We admired the phenomenon in our school observatory:

The photos taken with the use of a telescope:

Some of us watched the transit with the use of Stellarium: