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Transit of Mercury

Location: 
Sandia Deck

There’s a little black spot on the sun today, and it won’t be there again for 13 more years!  The planet Mercury will be passing in front of the sun as seen from the Earth at dawn on the morning of November 11, 2019.  This event is not visible without special solar-filtered telescopes, and those will be provided by the museum and The Albuquerque Astronomical Society on the Sandia Deck, which has an unobstructed view of the Sandias and the sunrise.  The museum’s front doors will open at 7 a.m. for a quick trip upstairs to see this rare astronomical event for free.  At 9 a.m., the entire museum will open and normal admission will be charged for entrance.  The transit will end at approximately 11 a.m.  If the sky is cloudy that morning, the museum will not be accessible until 9 a.m., and live streams of the transit from other locations in the world will be available.  This article has more information on solar transits:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/mercury-transit.html

See an animation of what the transit will look like from Albuquerque here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/albuquerque

Price: 
Free until 9 a.m.; Normal Museum Admission after 9 a.m.
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