News
Cambridge Residents Slam Council Proposal to Delay Bike Lane Construction
News
‘Gender-Affirming Slay Fest’: Harvard College QSA Hosts Annual Queer Prom
News
‘Not Being Nerds’: Harvard Students Dance to Tinashe at Yardfest
News
Wrongful Death Trial Against CAMHS Employee Over 2015 Student Suicide To Begin Tuesday
News
Cornel West, Harvard Affiliates Call for University to Divest from ‘Israeli Apartheid’ at Rally
Observations confirming the belief that Mercury, closest planet to the sun, has no atmosphere, were made today at the Harvard Observatory in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as the tiny body made one of its rare transits across the face of the sun.
Dr. John S. Paraskevopoulos, in charge of the Bloemfontein station, cabled the University Observatory that when Mercury was seen silhouetted against the sun there were no signs of any luminous ring around the body. His observations were made with an eight inch visual telescope.
If Mercury had an atmosphere, the sun's light would be diffused in passing through, causing the appearance of a halo around the planet, University astronomers explained.
Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.