Transit of Mercury 9/11/2006

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Transit of Mercury, 9/11/06

Common Name: Transit of Mercury Other Names: RA: 14 55 Dec -16 50 Constellation: Libra Distance: 101 million km Magnitude: 5.81 Telescope: Orion ED80 Camera: Canon 300D Filters: Solar Exposure: 1/640 seconds Date: 9/11/2006 Where: Tenby Observatory, Coonabarabran Lat: 31 16 35.05 S, Long 149 11 33.99 E, Elevation 547metres Notes: Mercury here is 0.005 times the diameter of the sun. This equates to about 10 arcseconds. Transits are quite rare occurring about 12 times a century. This is because Mercury has an inclined orbit about the sun so often passes above or below the sun. Notice tha large sunspot at the top left. There are also 2 small ones at the lower right. Mercury is in the centre of the lower half of the sun.

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