ESA TV Service coverage of Mercury transit

The ESA TV Service will for the first time make available video footage in broadcast quality in the form of a Quicktime file transfer via ftp.

During the morning of 7 May 2003, the planet Mercury will slip across the face of the Sun in a rare event, known as a transit. There are only about 12 celestial alignments like this every century and you cannot view them safely without special telescopic equipment. The ESA/NASA
solar watchdog, SOHO, is doing all the hard work and a computer graphics sequence will be available about one hour after the pass, as an ftp download video sequence, but NOT via satellite.

The transit begins at 07:50 GMT and last into the afternoon, finishing at 13:17 GMT.

Below are ftp adresses from where Quicktime files (compressed and uncompressed) of the Soho observations can be downloaded after the end of the pass. These sequences are having 576*768 pixels resolution. The uncompressed files are rather large (approx. 200 MB) but provide full broadcast quality.

For broadcasters wishing to make a test ftp downlaod before 7 May, there are already similar sequences available for download, and the ftp address (unanimous, no password required) is given below.

Quicktime files with SOHO observation of Mercury transit:

ftp://sohoftp.nascom.nasa.gov/incoming/steele/7May/

Files with other SOHO observations, for preceding download tests:

ftp://sohoftp.nascom.nasa.gov/incoming/steele/ESA/

For further information and a daily update of the transmission schedule, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For all enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail claus.habfast@esa.int.