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A transit of Mercury will occur on November 9. During the transit, Mercury will come between the Sun and the Earth. From the Earth's perspective, Mercury's silhouette will move across the Sun's disc. Weather permitting, the event will be visible in Hong Kong.
The transit will occur between 3.13am and 8.11am and last around five hours. The latter part of the transit can be observed in Hong Kong as the Sun will rise at 6.32am on the day of the transit. Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of Mercury during the transit.
The details of the transit are as follows.
Hong Kong Azimuth Elevation
Time Direction (Degrees)
Beginning of
transit
-------------
Mercury begins
to enter the
Sun's disc 3.13am East - 46
Mercury is
entirely inside
the Sun's disc 3.14am East - 46
Sunrise 6.32am East-southeast 0
End of transit
--------------
Mercury begins
to leave the
Sun's disc 8.09am East-southeast 20
Mercury is
entirely outside
the Sun's disc 8.11am East-southeast 20
Owing to the high intensity of sunlight, members of the public should not look directly at the Sun with the naked eye or through a telescope. They also should avoid observing the transit for a prolonged period. A safer method is to project the Sun's image onto a piece of white paper or cardboard and view the reflection.
The best places to observe the event will be those with an unobstructed view to the east such as the eastern coast of Sai Kung peninsula, Shek O, etc.
Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory website for detailed information on the "Transit of Mercury": http.//www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2006/mer-transit06_e.htm.
Ends/Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:00
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