Transits of Mercury occur about 13 times per century. Because of the eccentricity of Mercury's orbit, 9 transits happen in November and only 4 in May. The transit is not visible to the naked eye and must be viewed by projection or through optical aid with solar filters. This is a list of recent and future transit dates:
We met the Baker Street Irregulars, an astronomical group. Several people had brought telescopes with filters. We were able to see the transit for a couple of hours until the clouds rolled in and the sun got too low.
The Transit began at 12:35 and reached its maximum at 15:19. From London, the transit was still ongoing at sunset.
I saw it from its beginning (with gaps) till about 15:00 when it had clouded over.
Nicholas Joannou
Telescopic views of the filtered Sun.
Tunc Tezel
Sunset transit.
