The Sky at Night S17E12 · When Mercury Crosses the Sun

Overview

On the morning of 10 November the planet Mercury will pass in transit across the face of the Sun. Patrick Moore tells observers what they can expect to see, and he looks forward to the launching in 1974 of an American spacecraft which will fly past Mercury and send back the first close-up pictures.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. 1973 - an Exciting Year!1973-01-08Patrick Moore looks forward to a year of spectacular astronomical events: the launching of the Sky-lab earth-orbiting laboratory in May; the longest eclipse of the century in June;
2. 2 2. Practical Work in the Observatory1973-02-07From his Selsey observatory, Patrick Moore illustrates what amateur astronomers can achieve, and shows the planet Saturn.
3. 3 3. Sirius - The Brightest Star1973-03-19Patrick Moore talks about Sirius the Dog-Star, the brightest star in the sky and one of the nearest to us, and about its white dwarf companion Sirius B. (Patrick Moore's new opera
4. 4 4. The Eclipse of the Century1973-04-02The longest solar eclipse of the century, lasting over seven minutes, will take place in Africa on 30 June. Patrick Moore talks about some of the exciting experiments which will b
5. 5 5. How Big are the Planets?1973-04-30Patrick Moore discusses with Gordon Taylor and Dr David Allen new ways of measuring objects in our solar system.
6. 6 6. The Colours of the Stars1973-06-04Ancient astronomers described Sirius the Dog-Star as red: but what colour is it today? A few weeks ago, Patrick Moore asked viewers to tell him what colour they see Sirius, and no
7. 7 7. The African Eclipse1973-07-11British observers back from the longest solar eclipse of the century tell Patrick Moore about the results of their experiments. These astronomers went to see totality from widely d
8. 8 8. Navigational Astronomy1973-08-01Until the invention of modern techniques like radar and satellite-guidance, a ship at sea could only find her position by sun and stars. On board ship, Patrick Moore and Cmdr Henry
9. 9 9. Venus - A Cratered World1973-08-22Venus has always been a mysterious planet - shrouded in its dense, fiercely hot atmosphere, in which life as we know it could never exist. Astronomers have just announced a startli
10. 10 10. The Moon Illusion1973-09-18How big do you see the full moon? Near the horizon, it appears larger than when it is high in the sky - but this is not due to magnification by the earth's atmosphere. Patrick Moor
11. 11 11. The Volcanoes of Mars1973-10-17Patrick Moore visits the volcanic crater at Mount Teide in Tenerife, and discusses with Dr Ron Maddison the characteristics of Martian volcanoes, compared with those on the earth a
12. 12 12. When Mercury Crosses the Sun1973-11-07On the morning of 10 November the planet Mercury will pass in transit across the face of the Sun. Patrick Moore tells observers what they can expect to see, and he looks forward to
13. 13 13. Pioneer to Jupiter1973-12-12This month for the first time a space probe passes close to one of the giants of the solar system - the planet Jupiter. The American craft Pioneer 10 has penetrated further into th