Mercury Transit:
Breakfast & Observation
featuring Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi
Join Mason Physics and Astronomy for the 2019 Mercury Transit! Hear from
world-renowned Astrophysicist, Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, observe the astronomical event through Mason's Solar Telescopes, and enjoy a breakfast buffet with hot chocolate and coffee.
Monday, November 11th
7:00am - 9:00am
Observation: Shenandoah Parking Deck
Breakfast Presentation: The HUB Ballroom
Cost: FREE
7:00am - 7:30am - Welcome by Dr. Peter Plavchan, with Hot Chocolate and Coffee
7:30am - 8:15am - Observation of 'First Contact' (7:36am) for Mercury Transit
8:15am - 9:00am - Breakfast Presentation and Discussion
"Measuring the Universe: How Transits Led to the First Absolute
Measurement of Distances in the Solar System" - Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi
9:00am - 10:30am - Mercury Mid-Transit Observation
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About the Mercury Transit: Mercury is transiting the Sun on November 11th, 2019, the first since 2016, and the last until 2032. Transits of planets across the face of the Sun were used to determine the first absolute measurement of distances in the Solar System, and in particular to measure the distance of the Earth from the Sun. With the scale of our Solar System established, astronomers laid the foundation to measure of the distances to the nearest stars using parallax, and eventually further stars, the Milky Way, other Galaxies and ultimately the Universe itself. This series of inter-dependent steps in the cosmic distance ladder brings the tremendous physical scale of our Universe into perspective.
Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun interior to Earth's orbit. If the alignment is just right, these two planets can cause an eclipse or "transit": from Earth we see the planet in silhouette in front of our Sun. This alignment is so rare for Venus that it happens in pairs less than once a century, and in the past astronomers would undertake months-long voyages by sea to distant continents to document the transit, only to be foiled by clouds.
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Hakeem Oluseyi, PhD
Affiliate Faculty Member,
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, author of the highly-anticipated upcoming memoir, Rise of the Gangsta Physicist: An Unlikely Journey through Space and Time, is an internationally-recognized astrophysicist, science TV personality, and global education advocate who has had a long, distinguished career in academia and scientific research. In Fall 2019, he joined Mason's Department of Physics and Astronomy as an Affiliate Faculty Member.
His work has resulted in 11 patents and ~90 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion. Dr. Oluseyi has won several honors for his work including the 2018 Communications Award from the National Space Club, 2017 recognition for outstanding service to the U.S. Intelligence Community, selection as a 2015 MIT Faculty Fellow, 2015 induction into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, 2012 TED Global Fellow, a 2011 and 2013 U.S. State Department Speaker & Specialist, the 2006 Physics Technical Achiever of the Year by the National Technical Association, a 2005 NASA Earth/Sun Science New Investigator Faculty Fellow, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation Astrophysics Research Fellow, the Ernest O. Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2001-2003), and as a NASA GSRP Fellow at Stanford University.
Hakeem is one of the world's most popular educators and science communicators. He co-hosts several shows on Science Channel and Discovery International, including Outrageous Acts of Science, How the Universe Works, Space's Deepest Secrets, Strange Evidence, You Have Been Warned, and Strip the Cosmos.