Mason Mill Park Midday Hike + Rare Solar Transit of the Planet Mercury! + Picnic Lunch

Hope you can join us for this midday 2-1/2 hour Hiking + Astronomy event + "BYO Picnic Lunch" at lovely Mason Mill here in NE Atlanta.  We'll gather a few minutes before 11:30 AM just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance, in the free parking lot beside the stone restroom building and kids' playground.  (See detailed Directions below).  We've carefully chosen the date and time of the event to coincide with a rare "Transit" of Mercury," during which this nearest planetary neighbor of the Sun can be observed (weather permitting) "transiting" across the solar disc!  I'll have special solar-filtered binoculars to share with the group to make it safe for all of us to witness this amazing "mini-eclipse."
After introductions we'll set up our "AOC transit observing station" at a nice dining pavilion by the parking lot.  We'll enjoy our picnic lunches there while taking time to observe the progress of the "little black dot" of Mercury moving across the sun with my solar-safe binoculars.  The latest weather forecast (as of Fri May 6) expects about 45% cloud cover at midday on Monday, but there likely will be enough breaks in the clouds for us to get some good views of the transit.
  We'll depart the parking area on foot a few minutes after 12:00 noon and hike together to Medlock Park and back, stopping often to regroup and enjoy the native flora & fauna and other interesting scenery.  We'll pause occasionally to take more looks at Mercury with our "solarized binocs," assuming that the clouds cooperate..  Our total distance will be only about 3 miles with just one or two steep spots.  We'll target being back at the cars by 2:00 PM.  If you need to "split" early from the group that's OK, but be sure to let me know if and when you do so.  It should be easy to direct you back to the parking lot.

  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he or she is leashed and under your control at all times.

MORE about the MERCURY TRANSIT:  When it comes to amazing celestial events, transits of Mercury are rare, and can be observed only about once every 8 years on average. The last one visible from Georgia was May 7, 2003.  Luckily for American viewers this one on May 9 will be visible from coast to coast.  Cynics may say, “What’s the big deal about transits?” but avid skygazers and astronomers exult in the visual spectacle of these rare events.
  When it transits, Mercury is near its closest possible approach to Earth, and appears as an unmistakable dark disc, first appearing to touch the edge of the sun, then moving slowly across it - in effect a "mini-eclipse" that is blocking out some of the sun's light.  For this transit on May 9, 2016 the "First Contact" of Mercury's small dark planetary disc on the left side of the sun will occur at 7:12 AM EDT and "Last Contact" will be at 4:42 PM, when it exits from the right side of the sun's disc.
  Since the orbit of Mercury around the sun is inside our own Earth orbit it can occasionally appear precisely in a straight line between us and the sun, thus resulting in a transit. This happens rarely because Mercury’s orbit is tilted with respect to that of the Earth. A similar situation with our moon’s orbital tilt is likewise why total solar eclipses so seldom occur, with the moon’s shadow blocking our view of the sun.
  On June 5th, 2012 I enjoyed putting together an AOC Trip Leader team who treated more than 75 of our members to an even rarer transit of the planet Venus, viewed from atop Stone Mountain.  The next Venus transit won't happen until the mid-22nd century!  Check out AOCer Tony Ciccarello's fine Picasa photo album of that event by clicking this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/117574944045321577606/20120605AOCStoneMountainVenusTransitAndSunset?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvXrO_Jwdz7Mw

ABOUT the PARKS, TRAILS and HIKING OPTIONS:  Mason Mill and Medlock are two pretty DeKalb County parks located just east of Clairmont Road near Emory University and the VA Hospital.  They conveniently connect with one another via a network of hiking/biking paths and boardwalks.  The mile-long South Peachtree Creek Trail is the main trail through this shady corridor, and like the better known Silver Comet Trail was designed and built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation."  The trail features a half-mile-long raised deck through the forest canopy above the rocky creek.  Another exciting portion of this trail takes us over the railroad track via a 3-stories-high wooden walkway and deck.  Hikers here are treated to aerial views of the picturesque restored ruins of the historic early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks.  Since this high deck is well protected from the glare of city lights it has also proven to be a good spot for viewing sunsets, moonrises, the stars & planets, comets, eclipses, meteor showers, etc.
  Lots of spur trails branch from the PATH trail into the surrounding forest and it's always fun to explore a few of them during Mason Mill/ Medlock hikes.  One such spur fords the South Fork of Peachtree Creek via stepping stones and allows optional access to the half-mile white-blazed loop trail around Ira Melton Park.
  Another option (that we sometimes include in hikes of 3 hours or more) is to walk beyond Medlock Park a few blocks through the neighborhood to lovely Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve and do at least a short "wetlands" loop there before heading back (via Medlock Park) to our Mason Mill Park meetup spot.

FOR a COLOR MAP of the SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK "PATH" TRAIL and how it interconnects Mason Mill & Medlock Park and other DeKalb County-owned green space, click this link:  http://pathfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/south-peachtree-creek-trail.pdf

FROM the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the square blue & green "Event Location" near the top of this article.)

1. From the I-85 "Clairmont Road" Exit (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta take Clairmont Rd southward (toward Decatur) about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (This is the next light south of the big Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection.  If you reach the huge VA Hospital you've gone a couple of blocks too far!)

2. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here.)

3. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign into the large free parking lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building near that main entrance adjoining the children's playground.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Mason Mill Park spot where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment my above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination address.)
  33.8080,-84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!