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Skygazers can safely view the transit of Mercury across the sun from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, at the James & Barbara Moore Observatory located on the Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) Charlotte Campus, 26300 Airport Road, Punta Gorda. The event is free and open to the public. “Mercury will appear as a very small, black dot moving across the sun,” said Tom Segur, observatory director. “This event only occurs about 13 times a century. The Nov. 11 event will be the longest of this century, lasting five hours, 30 minutes. The next event will happen in 2032.” Solar filters are required to safely view this event. The observatory will have four telescopes and four pairs of binoculars with proper solar filters available for safe viewing. The James & Barbara Moore Observatory also holds public viewing sessions on the fourth Friday of each month, September through May, weather permitting. Observation sessions typically begin about 30-45 minutes after dark. For more information about this event or for a full schedule of observatory events, call (941) 637-5652 or visit https://www.fsw.edu/charlotte/observatory.