Friends
of the
Zeiss
P.O. Box 1041
Pittsburgh PA 15230-1041 U.S.A.
Telephone: 412-561-7876
Electronic Mail: < friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc >
Internet Web Site:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
Blog Site: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com >
NEWS RELEASE
For
immediate release: 2016 April 14
For
more information -- Glenn A. Walsh:
E-Mail < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Telephone
412-561-7876
May 9 -
SAFE
PUBLIC VIEWING OF RARE ASTRONOMICAL EVENT
AT MT. LEBANON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Pittsburgh, April 14 – The stars and planets
appear to move above us like clock-work each year. And, from time-to-time, the
sky becomes even more interesting when there is an eclipse or the sighting of a
new comet.
However, there is one astronomical event that is
somewhat rare and only occurs 14 times this century.
Monday Morning and early Afternoon, May 9,
people in North America will have the chance to witness this special
event—the Transit of the Planet Mercury moving directly in front of the Sun. Safe
public viewing of this rare
astronomical event will
be offered, free-of-charge, at the Mount
Lebanon Public Library, 16 Castle Shannon Boulevard, near Washington Road
in Pittsburgh's South Hills.
A live, Internet web-cast of the event will be
shown in Conference Room A on the Library’s Lower Level. If outdoor observation
conditions are optimum, we may try to also observe the event using a 4-inch
refractor telescope.
The Mount Lebanon Public Library is located at
the southern end of Mount Lebanon's “Uptown” Washington Road business district,
about three blocks south of the Port Authority's Mount Lebanon
“T” Light Rail Transit Station. Free-of-charge
public parking is available at the Library.
A solar transit of a planet is when the planet
can be seen (using safe solar viewing techniques) in the daytime as it
moves in front of, and across, the image of the surface of the Sun. The planets
Mercury and Venus are the only planets that can be seen transiting the Sun from
the Earth, as these are the only planets closer to the Sun than Earth.
A solar transit of the planet Mercury occurs
from time-to-time, but is fairly rare and difficult to see due to the small
size of Mercury. A solar transit of the planet Venus is extremely
rare, as it only happens twice, each spaced eight years apart, during a period
of more than a century ! Indeed, only eight such events have occurred since the
1609 invention of the astronomical telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874,
1882, 2004, and 2012).
The two last solar transits of Venus occurred on
2004 June 8 and 2012 June 5. Friends
of the Zeiss provided the only
public observing event of the 2004 Transit of Venus in the City of Pittsburgh,
in cooperation with the The Duquesne Incline, using several telescopes.
For the 2012 event, we also had telescopes
available for public viewing at the Mount Lebanon Public Library. Regrettably,
we were not able to use the telescopes during the 2012 event due to cloud
cover, but the public still saw the event via a live Internet web-cast in the
Library Conference Room.
On May 9, the complete Transit of Mercury, from
one side of the Sun to the other, will take almost exactly seven and one-half
hours. Although the event actually begins at 7:12:19 a.m. Eastern Daylight
Saving Time (EDT), Library coverage of the event will begin upon the Library’s
opening that morning at 9:00. Library coverage of the event will continue until
the event’s conclusion at 2:42:26 p.m. EDT.
This free-of-charge event is co-sponsored by
Friends of the Zeiss and the Mount Lebanon Public Library.
If we are able to use a telescope for viewing
this event, we will project the image of the Solar Transit of
Mercury onto a portable movie screen, for safe viewing. Observing the Sun with
a telescope, binoculars, or any other type of optical device should only be
attempted by people who have received the proper training and possess the
proper equipment to do so safely.
Observing the Solar Transit of Mercury, at the
Mount Lebanon Public Library, will be supervised by former Buhl Planetarium Astronomical
Observatory Coordinator and Planetarium Lecturer Glenn A. Walsh.
NEVER
look directly at the
Sun, a solar eclipse, or a solar transit of a planet with a telescope, binoculars,
or any other optical device unless you have the special training and special
equipment to do so safely. Otherwise, this would cause PERMANENT BLINDNESS
INSTANTLY !
NEVER look directly at the Sun or a solar
eclipse with your unaided eye. This could cause MAJOR EYE DAMAGE and POSSIBLE BLINDNESS
! Eye damage can occur rapidly, without
any pain, since there are no nerves in the eyes.
For further questions about safely viewing the
Solar Transit of Mercury, send an electronic mail message to: < mercurytransit@planetarium.cc >
or telephone 412-561-7876.
Friends of the Zeiss is a fourteen-year-old,
non-profit organization with the mission to promote Astronomy, Space Sciences,
and related sciences to the general public through Internet web sites and a
blog, as well as public observing sessions of special astronomical events. This
organization also promotes the history and preservation of the historic
equipment, artifacts, and building of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science, including the Zeiss II Planetarium Projector
(prior to 2002 dismantling, oldest operable major planetarium projector in
the world !) and the fairly unique 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor
Telescope. More information: < http://www.planetarium.cc
> or 412-561-7876.
- 30 -
2016: 75th Year of Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium Observatory
Return to History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh
Transit of Mercury - News Release: 2016 April 14
Electronic Mail: < nr-transit-mercury2016@planetarium.cc > *** Internet Web Site Cover Page: < http://www.planetarium.cc >
This Internet Web Page: < https://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/transit-mercury/2016/NR-MercuryTransit2016.htm >
News: Astronomy, Space, Science: SpaceWatchtower Blog
2016 April
NEWS: Planetarium, Astronomy, Space, and Other Sciences
Other Internet Web Sites of Interest
History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh
History of Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago
Astronomer, Educator, and Telescope Maker John A. Brashear
History of Andrew Carnegie and Carnegie Libraries
Mount Lebanon Public Library, South Hills, Pittsburgh
Historic Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh
Disclaimer Statement: This Internet Web Site is not affiliated with the
Andrew Carnegie Free Library,
This Internet, World Wide Web Site administered by Glenn A.
Walsh.
This Internet World Wide Web page created on 2016 April 14.
You are visitor number
Ninth Pennsylvania
Reserves Civil War Reenactment Group,
Henry Buhl, Jr.
Planetarium and Observatory,
The
Carnegie Science
Center,
The
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Institute,
or
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Unless otherwise indicated, all pages in this web site are --
© Copyright
2016,
Glenn A. Walsh, All Rights Reserved.
Contact Web Site Administrator: <
nr-transit-mercury2016@planetarium.cc >.
Last modified : Monday, 18-Apr-2016 00:03:47 EDT.
, to this web page,
since 2016 April 14.