[an error occurred while processing this directive] SOHO Mercury Transit 2003 May 7, 07:48-13:16 UT

This web page is used to distribute tecnical information regarding the Mercury Transit on May 7, 2003, as seen from SOHO. For information to the general public, see this SOHO Hot Shot. Below is a path prediction (based on the last orbit determination before the transit). The path includes effects of light-travel-time, and is highly accurate; based on the uncertainty in SOHO's position, the error margin of the ephemeris is about 0.007". The quadratic approximation quoted in the figure deviates less than 0.025" from the underlying ephemeris.

The IDL function merc_point can be used to look up/interpolate the position during the transit. Also needed: ephemeris file (must be in current working directory), and merc_ephem.pro, in a standard SolarSoft environment.

For details on the transit as seen from Earth, see Fred Espenak's 2003 Transit of Mercury page.

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