Transit of Mercury 2016

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This morning, instead of writing documentation, I was observing the transit of Mercury.  Mercury is the small dot against the bright solar background, that you can see at about 7 o’clock, the larger smudge above center is a sunspot.  As observed from Utah, the transit started before dawn, and due to rain and cloud, I could not see the sun until around 9:45am. but then the skies cleared and I had a great view!

Many thanks to Ken Kolb, who gave me a Meade 4.5″ reflector on Saturday, I was able to see the transit really well.  The above photo was taken of the projected sun image with my iPhone.

Note: NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN THRU A TELESCOPE without using appropriate filters or projection techniques.