Monday May 9, 2016, Mercury passes directly between the sun and Earth. The last time it happened was ten years ago in 2006 and the next time will be Nov. 11, 2019. Here in Estes Park the sunrise occurs at 5:49 AM and the transit begins at 5:51. The transit ends at 12:41 PM and the midpoint is at 8:58 AM.

Starting about 8:00 AM at the observatory we’ll be using our solar telescopes and eclipse glasses for safe viewing of the transit. We will also simulcast the live view of the transit as it’s broadcast from the NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory telescope on our big screen and as an added incentive well be supplying wake up coffee. Come on over to the observatory Monday morning for the best Mercury transit viewing around.