NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory – a spacecraft that takes high-definition photos of the sun – is even beaming back photos of the transit in close to real-time.
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View of Mercury in transit arounf the sun.
Mercury began making its way across the sun at 8:12 a.m CST and will complete its crossing at 12:42 p.m. CST.
The time it takes Mercury to move across the Sun varies, and is dependent on the momentary velocity of the planet in its orbit and on the exact path across the Sun. As planets cross in front of the sun, the brightness dims a little. As a result, a Mercury day is twice as long as a Mercury year.
The last Mercury transit occurred on November 6, 2006, when the event was visible from the extreme northeastern parts of India at sunrise, said sources.
“Venus stands between the earth and Mercury, so it’s a rare moment when Mercury would directly come between the earth and the Sun”. They’re so rare because the innermost planet’s orbit is inclined by about 7 degrees compared to that of Earth, so Mercury, the sun and our home planet just don’t line up all that often.
It said in a statement: “Remember your sun safety rules and NEVER look directly at the sun unless you have the proper certified eclipse glasses”.
The next transit will occur in 2019, and the one after that in 2032.
Missed the transit of Mercury?
Anyone who wants to view our system’s smallest planet will need a telescope or high-powered binoculars outfitted with a solar filter – absolutely never look directly at the sun without a filter.
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Almost everywhere on the globe with the exception of Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and a small area of eastern Asia, will be able see Mercury’s transit. That’s about 4 a.m.to noon here.
