Ibbo!

Mercury Transit 9th May 2016 Warning The sun is dangerous and any mistakes could lead to permanent blindness. The Geocentric Phase timings are 11-12 UT ingress(12-12 BST) 18-42 UT egress (19-42 BST) but your actual local timings will differ slightly. This website will provide additional information - http://eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2016.html Preparation is king from the making of filters to the planning of the path of the sun from your chosen location, a tree of building in the way can make for a frustrating day. The size of Mercury makes the use of eclipse glasses of no use so you will need some sort of telescope/binoculars to view the event. Anything involving the sun is dangerous if you do not take the usual precautions. The use of a proper filtration is of uppermost importance. The filters are available from all reputable astronomical vendors and can be Baader film to the use of a dedicated solar telescope. The making of a Baader film filter can be done as a Blue Peter DIY but please make sure that it cannot fall off and has no pinholes in it. The attached video explains the making of a suitable filter in more detail - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014hpkh All finders must be also be filtered, securely capped off or removed. In no circumstances are the eyepiece filters to be used (usually sold on eBay) –they should be destroyed as a matter of course. Imaging Ha filters again are not to be used for solar viewing or imaging. If you are sharing the event please make sure that your visitors are aware of the precautions that must be taken with solar viewing.

Sorry to say that my insurance contact has not got back to me as yet But £5 sounds a great deal to me BTW my £25 will be in the post when it starts again Steve