At TABC, Dr. Berman’s 11H Physics class had the opportunity to make a bracha of “oseh maaseh Bereishit,” per Rabbi Adler’s psak, over the viewing of the transit of Mercury in front of the sun. Less than once a decade, Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, passes between the earth and the sun, in a configuration visible to us in New Jersey. May 9, 2016 was one of those few occasions. The event was viewed using a ten inch diameter reflecting telescope made safe using a 10,000 times light reducing filter. Students viewed the event at magnifications of 57 times, 70 times, and 150.
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