For some value of "transit"...

[luscious_purple]

This morning I thought of going outside, after I was finally dressed, to try to project an image of the transit of Mercury through my binoculars. (Hey, it worked for the partial solar eclipse a couple of years ago.) But then Tall Dancer phoned (to keep himself awake on a long-distance drive), and I hadn't talked to him in months, and by the time we ended the call, 105 minutes had elapsed and the transit was over. Ah, well....

Of course, the transit of Mercury reminded me of the transit of Venus, which I attempted to watch with Pedro and Devora, and just under one year later, we were bidding farewell to Pedro. Sic transit Gloria mundi….

This past weekend was Philcon. I've gotten used to the idea that it is a small, aging science fiction convention. I drove R. to and from Cherry Hill, N.J., and he paid for most of my expenses (still awaiting a delayed freelance check, grrr). It's been 32 years since my first Philcon….

Comments

[cz_unit]

I actually spotted it by looking at the sun directly. Well, with a #15 auto darkening welding helmet, but I was able to see the little dot in about the right spot. No sunspots either to spoil the view.

[luscious_purple]

My Dad brought home some welding glass (from the welding shop where he worked) so that we could watch the partial solar eclipse of March 1970. That's amazing that you could see the dot -- most skywatchers said the dot would be too small to see with the naked eye.