On a brighter note...

The sun is shining, the world hasn't ended, and the US mid-term elections have given Bush and the Republicans a slap in the face (hurrah!).

Oh yeah, and Mercury transits the sun this morning:

Transit of Mercury

On the morning of Thursday 9th Mercury will pass directly in front of the Sun, appearing as a small black dot against the Sun’s bright surface. From Melbourne we will see all 5 hours of the transit.

Sunrise	6:05am
First Contact	6:12am
Mercury first appears against the Sun
Second Contact	6:14am
Mercury is now a complete disc against the Sun
Third Contact	11:09am
Mercury starts to move off the Sun
Fourth Contact	11:10am
Mercury completely leaves the Sun

The next Transit of Mercury to be visible from Australia won’t occur until 13 November 2032.

Do not look directly at the Sun. Safe ways to look at this event include using a telescope correctly fitted with a solar filter or using a telescope projection method. Never look at the Sun through a telescope or its finder.

The CSU Remote Telescope will be webcasting the transit live from Bathurst.