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A transit of Mercury over the disc of the Sun will occur on May 7, 2003 (Wednesday). During a transit, Mercury comes between the Sun and the Earth, and its silhouette moves across the Sun's disc. The whole process will last more than five hours on this occasion.
Weather permitting, the event will be visible in Hong Kong. Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of Mercury during the transit.
Details of the transit are as follows:
Hong Kong Azimuth Elevation
Time Direction (Degrees)
Beginning of transit:
Exterior contact 1.12 pm West-southwest 77
Interior contact 1.17 pm West-southwest 75
End of transit:
Interior contact 6.25 pm West-northwest 5
Exterior contact 6.29 pm West-northwest 4
Due to the strong sunlight, members of the public must not look directly at the Sun with the naked eye or through a telescope. They also should avoid observing the transit for a prolonged period. A safer method is to project the Sun's image onto a piece of white paper or cardboard and view the reflection.
The best place to observe the transit will be where there is unobstructed view to the west such as Pok Fu Lam, Stanley, Lamma Island, Cheung Chau and Tai O.
Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory website for detailed information on the "Transit of Mercury": http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2003/mercury_transit_e.htm
End/ Wednesday, April 30, 2003
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