Nov 10 - Monday's Transit of Mercury

November 10 Monday's Transit of Mercury by:

Here is the previous transit of Mercury - May 9, 2016 - via @altair_astro on Twitter. Mercury is the black dot just inside the sun's limb. Mercury will transit the sun again tomorrow. The next transit of Mercury isn't until 2032. Details here.

Clear skies to you all for Monday's transit! EarthSky News will be taking the day off. See you Tuesday! Tomorrow … Last transit of Mercury until 2032 Our solar system's innermost planet, Mercury, will pass directly in front of the sun tomorrow. It'll come into view as a small black dot on the sun’s face around 7:36 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (12:36 UTC; translate UTC to your time) Monday morning. It’ll make a 5.5-hour journey across the sun’s face, reaching greatest transit (closest to the sun’s center) at approximately 10:20 a.m. EST (15:20 UTC) and finally exiting around 1:04 p.m. EST (18:04 UTC). Much of the world can see some part of the transit. The entire transit will be visible across the U.S. East – with magnification and proper solar filters – while those in the U.S. West can observe the transit already in progress after sunrise. Learn how to watch in the sky or online.  This week … North Taurid meteors peak in moonlight The long-lasting, slow-moving North Taurids don't exhibit a sharp peak, so meteor rates may remain fairly steady for the next several days. Too bad about the moon! Read more. Did ancient Earth life escape our solar system? You've heard of panspermia, the idea that life exists throughout space and was carried to Earth by comets? Theoretical physicist Abraham Loeb makes the case for a reverse kind of panspermia. It's the idea that microbes on Earth may have been ejected into space by asteroid impacts, escaping into the solar system billions of years ago. Read more.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock We're guaranteed to sell out, get one while you can! Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

Full moon to subdue North Taurid meteor peak Full moon comes in the early morning hours Tuesday, according to clocks in the Americas (8:34 a.m. Eastern on November 12, or 13:34 UTC; translate UTC to your time). It comes as the moon is sweeping through the constellation Taurus the Bull, the same constellation from which the North Taurid meteors radiate. And, as it happens, the North Taurids are also peaking around now. Read more.

If you think the moon is an impediment to meteor-watching View larger. | Feet of an owl perched on an all-sky meteor camera - around midnight Saturday morning. Veteran meteor observer Eliot Herman of Tucson, Arizona, wrote: "Meteor photography is really difficult if all that is visible is the rear end of an owl who decided to perch on the camera at midnight. The owl remained for about 5 minutes. The bright moon is enough of a problem to get good imagery, but this really adds insult. The twin stars of Gemini are visible between the toes on the lower left." Thank you, Eliot!  Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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