Transits and Eclipses
A transit is when one celestial object crosses in front of another. An eclipse is when one celestial body partially or fully covers another. We have been fortunate to host Venus and Mercury transits across the face of the Sun, and three partial solar eclipses.
December 25, 2000 partial solar eclipse
The observatory live-streamed a solar eclipse on Christmas day, 2000.
Shown in the reflection on the TV monitor is observatory volunteer Don Ross, running the telescope.
June 8, 2004 Venus Transit
Venus transits are rare, occurring in pairs eight years apart, separated by more than a century. The next Venus transit will be in 2117.
November 11, 2019 Mercury transit
Mercury transits can occur 13 or 14 times a century. The next one will be in 2032.
Mercury transiting the Solar face
This image was taken at McCarthy Observatory through a telescope with a safe solar filter.
August 21, 2017 partial solar eclipse
August 21, 2017, featured a solar eclipse across the continental United States, from west coast to east coast. At the observatory we saw a partial eclipse with about 70% of the Sun covered by the Moon.
April 8, 2024 partial solar eclipse
This solar eclipse path moved north from Mexico and extended northeast across the United States and up to Canada. At the observatory we saw a partial eclipse with about 93% of the Sun covered by the Moon.
Eclipses on other planets
Earth is not the only planet that can experience an eclipse. If you could stand in the small dark area on Saturn shown in the image below, you would see a solar eclipse from Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The moon is barely visible up and left of the shadow.
