Worth it to invest in solar filter for Mercury transit of Sun on Nov. 8?

Question:

I am an amatuer skygazer who just got started a few months ago. I have a SkyQuest XT8 (f/1200). I am wondering if I would be able to get decent views of the event with my equipment and how hard it will be to resolve/see. I would love to hear from any backyard astronomers with experience viewing this sort of event who have tips or advice.

Answer:
Yes, you should be able to get a good view of the transit with your telescope. Mercury will appear as a tiny dot moving across the face of the sun. The sun itself is mostly pretty dull right now, but the sunspot cycle will crank up over the next few years.

I made my own filters using Baader Astrosolar film. For safety, make sure your filter is firmly attached to the telescope, and be sure to remove or cover your finder scope (and reflex finders can be damaged by pointing them at the sun).

Well, if you can see it at all, it will be a very tiny black dot on the face of the sun. Personally, I don't see it as that interesting.

Try one of the live webcams instead
--> http://home.mira.net/~reynella1/astronom...

Worth it to invest in solar filter for Mercury transit of Sun on Nov. 8?

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