May 4, 2016
Contact: Nancy Lee Gomer, Marketing Coordinator 636-949-7535, ngomer@sccmo.org
St. Charles County, Missouri –Join the St. Charles County Parks and Recreation Department and the Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri (ASEM) to watch a very rare event in the daytime sky – the transit of Mercury across the sun, from 7 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Monday, May 9 at Broemmelsiek Park’s Astronomy Viewing Area in Defiance. The special event occurs in the sky when the planet Mercury comes between the sun and the Earth, and Mercury is seen as a small black dot moving across the face of the sun.
Since this event involves viewing the sun, extreme caution must be taken when attempting to observe the transit. The ASEM and Parks Department will provide the public with safe viewing opportunities throughout the event.
A transit of Mercury is such a rare event that it only occurs 13 times in a century and won’t happen again until November 2019!
For more information about the transit of Mercury program, call the Parks Department at 636-949-7535. Broemmelsiek Park is located at 1795 Highway DD, Defiance, MO.
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