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Posted by oriel36 on October 27, 2006, 1:19 pm
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The true description of the Nov 8th event that is acceptable to
heliocentric astronomers is that the faster Mercury,in an inner orbital
circuit,is overtaking the slower moving orbital motion of the Earth.
Describing the motion of Mercury across the face of the Sun from Earth
is hardly an astronomical description but unfortunately this view is
the only one acceptable to guys raised on celestial sphere geometry.
Rarer than the event itself is a person who can truly appreciate in the
original way the first heliocentric astronomers looked out on the
orbital motion of the Earth and the other planets ,while the Mercury
event is astronomically more fleeting that the graceful sweep of the
outer planets as the faster Earth overtakes them,the result is an
appreciation of human reasoning -
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0112/JuSa2000_tezel.gif
How many of you will look out on the motion of Mercury on the 8th and
see the orbital motion of Mercury begin to overtake the Earth's orbital
motion with the stationary Sun at the center of it all and as a
backdrop -
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar
Of course,being bound to Newton and celestial sphere geometry you deny
that planetary orbital motions are seen directly from an orbitally
moving Earth ,the price of your celestial sphere peep show based on the
motion of Mercury across the Sun is that the rest of humanity is denied
a proper appreciation of the event .
baalke@earthlink.net wrote:
> Contacts:
> Douglas Isbell/Robert Wilson
> Office of Public Affairs and Educational Outreach
> National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)
> Phone: (520) 318-8230
> E-mail: disbell@noao.edu or rwilson@noao.edu
>
> Linda Dackman
> Exploratorium Public Information Office
> Phone: (415) 561-0363
> E-mail: lindad@exploratorium.edu
>
> Joshua Chamot
> Media Officer for Mathematics and Physical Sciences
> National Science Foundation
> Phone: (703) 292-7730
> E-mail: jchamot@nsf.gov
>
> October 26, 2006
> NOAO: 06-12
>
> WATCH MERCURY TRANSIT THE SUN ON NOVEMBER 8
> LIVE FROM KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY
>
> The National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory and
> the Exploratorium are joining forces to present a live view of an
> unusual
> celestial event: the transit of planet Mercury across the face of the
> Sun,
> as seen from Earth.
>
> This five-hour transit occurs on Wednesday, November 8, 2006,
> beginning at 12:12 p.m. local MST in Tucson, Arizona (11:12 a.m. PST)
> and
> ending at 5:10 p.m MST (4:10 p.m. PST).
>
> The coverage from Kitt Peak, broadcast on the Web by a mobile
> multimedia
> team from the Exploratorium, will include a live image of the transit
> as
> seen through a white-light filter on a Meade 16-inch telescope operated
> by
> the national observatory for public outreach, plus live voiceover
> commentary at the top of every hour and interviews with astronomers on
> Kitt Peak.
>
> For more information and to watch the event live, go to
> www.exploratorium.edu/transit
>
> Interviewees from Kitt Peak will include scientist Andrew Potter of
> the National Solar Observatory, who will using the transit to make
> special
> observations of Mercury's thin atmosphere as seen against the known
> background composition of the Sun, using the world's largest solar
> telescope, the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.
>
> "This interesting event reminds us that we live in a vast
> three-dimensional universe with two planets, Mercury and Venus, that
> orbit
> the Sun inside Earth's orbit," says Mark Giampapa, deputy director of
> the
> National Solar Observatory, which operates the McMath-Pierce 1.6-meter
> telescope for the National Science Foundation.
>
> Extensive information on the transit and the time of "contact events"
> within it is available from NASA at
> sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/transit06.html
>
> A sample of what the transit will look like can be seen at
> www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0900.html
>
> The last Mercury transit occurred in 2003. The next such transit
> does not occur until May 9, 2016. An even more rare Venus transit of
> the
> Sun occurs in June 2012.
>
> The Kitt Peak Visitor Center will host special hands-on activities
> and provide telescopes for safe solar viewing by the public starting at
> Noon on November 8, at a cost of $5 for adults and $2 for children over
> 12.
>
> The mission of the Kitt Peak Visitor Center is to inspire a sense of
> wonder and awe about the Universe, through its exhibits, tours and
> public
> programs. For more information about the Kitt Peak Visitor Center,
> visit
> www.noao.edu/outreach or call the Visitor Center at (520) 318-8726.
>
> Part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Kitt Peak
> National Observatory is operated by the Association of Universities for
> Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with
> the
> National Science Foundation. It is located 55 miles southwest of
> Tucson,
> Arizona, in the Quinlan Mountains on the Tohono O'odham Nation.
>
> The McMath-Pierce telescope on Kitt Peak is part of the National
> Solar Observatory, also operated by AURA for NSF.
>
> The Exploratorium, located in San Francisco, is a public educational
> institution for peoples of all ages. This innovative museum of science,
> technology, art, and human perception provides for the general public,
> even those with the most limited scientific knowledge, an experience
> enabling them to understand science and nature.
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