ASPIRING astronomers can get free expert help this afternoon as they try to watch the Transit of Mercury.
The Solar System's smallest planet will pass directly between Earth and the Sun today, looking like a small black dot moving across the face of our star.
Between 1pm and 6pm, the University of Southampton's Physics and Astronomy outreach team and together the student astronomy society, are setting up solar telescopes to help people safey watch the spectacle.
The observatory will be set up at floor level outside Physics and Astronomy, Building 46, on the University’s Highfield Campus between 1 and 6pm.
To book a free place, please register your interest at eventbrite.co.uk.
Looking directly at the Sun is incredibly dangerous without the correct equipment and will cause blindness, so anyone wanting to watch the Transit - which happens around a dozen times a century - needs to take proper precautions.
The British Astronomical Association has guidelines for people wanting to see for themselves, while the European Space Agency (ESA) will be streaming live images throughout the day.
From Earth, Mercury appers 150 times smaller than the Sun.
The Transit begins at 11.12am and lasts until 6.42pm, UK time.
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