Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Mercury Putting on Rare Show Monday, Parading Across the Sun
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
November 10, 2019

Share

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Mercury is putting on a rare celestial show next week, parading across the sun in view of most of the world.
The solar system’s smallest, innermost planet will resemble a tiny black dot Monday as it passes directly between Earth and the sun. It begins at 7:35 a.m. EST.
The entire 5 ½-hour event will be visible, weather permitting, in the eastern U.S. and Canada, and all Central and South America. The rest of North America, Europe and Africa will catch part of the action. Asia and Australia will miss out.
Unlike its 2016 transit, Mercury will score a near bull’s-eye this time, passing practically dead center in front of our star.
Mercury’s next transit isn’t until 2032, and North America won’t get another viewing opportunity until 2049. Earthlings get treated to just 13 or 14 Mercury transits a century.
You’ll need proper eye protection for Monday’s spectacle: Telescopes or binoculars with solar filters are recommended. There’s no harm in pulling out the eclipse glasses from the total solar eclipse across the U.S. two years ago, but it would take “exceptional vision” to spot minuscule Mercury, said NASA solar astrophysicist Alex Young.
Mercury is 3,000 miles in diameter, compared with the sun’s 864,000 miles.

Venus Transits Are Much Rarer

During its 2012 transit of the sun, larger and closer Venus was barely detectable by Young with his solar-viewing glasses.

“That’s really close to the limit of what you can see. So Mercury’s going to probably be too small.” — NASA solar astrophysicist Alex Young
“That’s really close to the limit of what you can see,” he said earlier this week. “So Mercury’s going to probably be too small.”
Venus transits are much rarer. The next one isn’t until 2117.
Mercury will cut a diagonal path left to right across the sun on Monday, entering at bottom left (around the 8 hour mark on a clock) and exiting top right (around the 2 hour mark).
Although the trek will appear slow, Mercury will zoom across the sun at roughly 150,000 mph.
NASA will broadcast the transit as seen from the orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory, with only a brief lag. Scientists will use the transit to fine-tune telescopes, especially those in space that cannot be adjusted by hand, according to Young.
It’s this kind of transit that allows scientists to discover alien worlds. Periodic, fleeting dips of starlight indicate an orbiting planet.
“Transits are a visible demonstration of how the planets move around the sun, and everyone with access to the right equipment should take a look,” Mike Cruise, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, said in a statement from England.

DON'T MISS

Special Counsel Jack Smith Resigns After Submitting Trump Report

DON'T MISS

‘We Stand With You’: Valley Leaders Gather to Address Immigration Raids

DON'T MISS

Meta Nixes Diversity and Inclusion Program as It Prepares for Second Trump Administration

DON'T MISS

Surging Job Market Could Prove Costly for Households, Businesses as Odds of Quick Rate Cuts Fade

DON'T MISS

Biden to Deliver Prime-Time Farewell to Nation on Wednesday From Oval Office

DON'T MISS

Israel’s Netanyahu Sends Mossad Director to Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Qatar

DON'T MISS

What Ignited the Deadly California Wildfires? Investigators Consider an Array of Possibilities

DON'T MISS

Can Democrats Be the Party of the Future Again?

DON'T MISS

Say Goodbye to Overpriced Groceries: 6 Hacks to Save Hundreds Each Month

DON'T MISS

From Stories to Work Shirts, How Jim Harbaugh Has Turned Around the Chargers

UP NEXT

Meathead Movers Fill Trucks with Donations for LA Fire Victims. Fresno Can Help

UP NEXT

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Sworn In Despite Credible Evidence of Election Loss

UP NEXT

US Increases Bounty to $25M on Venezuelan’s Maduro

UP NEXT

Google to Track Every Device Starting February 16

UP NEXT

Inside Trump’s Search for a Health Threat to Justify His Immigration Crackdown

UP NEXT

TikTok’s Fate Arrives at Supreme Court in Collision of Free Speech and National Security

UP NEXT

Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Dies in On-Duty Traffic Accident

UP NEXT

Italian Journalist Freed From Detention in Iran, Returns Home

UP NEXT

Washington Post Lays Off 4% of Its Workforce

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Change the Name of the Gulf of Mexico

Surging Job Market Could Prove Costly for Households, Businesses as Odds of Quick Rate Cuts Fade

9 hours ago

Biden to Deliver Prime-Time Farewell to Nation on Wednesday From Oval Office

10 hours ago

Israel’s Netanyahu Sends Mossad Director to Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Qatar

10 hours ago

What Ignited the Deadly California Wildfires? Investigators Consider an Array of Possibilities

10 hours ago

Can Democrats Be the Party of the Future Again?

13 hours ago

Say Goodbye to Overpriced Groceries: 6 Hacks to Save Hundreds Each Month

14 hours ago

From Stories to Work Shirts, How Jim Harbaugh Has Turned Around the Chargers

1 day ago

Tulare Police Arrest Canadian Suspect in $130,000 Elder Scam

1 day ago

Hall of Famer Kurt Warner’s QB Son Commits to Fresno State

1 day ago

Meathead Movers Fill Trucks with Donations for LA Fire Victims. Fresno Can Help

1 day ago

Special Counsel Jack Smith Resigns After Submitting Trump Report

WASHINGTON – Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report on Presiden...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Special Counsel Jack Smith Resigns After Submitting Trump Report

3 hours ago

‘We Stand With You’: Valley Leaders Gather to Address Immigration Raids

9 hours ago

Meta Nixes Diversity and Inclusion Program as It Prepares for Second Trump Administration

9 hours ago

Surging Job Market Could Prove Costly for Households, Businesses as Odds of Quick Rate Cuts Fade

10 hours ago

Biden to Deliver Prime-Time Farewell to Nation on Wednesday From Oval Office

10 hours ago

Israel’s Netanyahu Sends Mossad Director to Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Qatar

10 hours ago

What Ignited the Deadly California Wildfires? Investigators Consider an Array of Possibilities

13 hours ago

Can Democrats Be the Party of the Future Again?

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend