The Transit of Mercury: 9 May 2016

On 9 May 2016 Mercury will transit the Sun, which is known as the Transit of Mercury. This is a rare event that occurs because the planets Mercury and Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun. The Transit of Mercury will last about seven hours. It will be visible from most parts of the world, except Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

People must not look directly at the Sun. Instead, the transit can be viewed using a telescope. It will look like a black spot moving across the Sun. The American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is streaming the event for viewers to observe it directly on its website.

Venus typically transits the Sun twice in a 100 years, while Mercury typically transits the Sun about 13 or 14 times a century. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. The last time it transited the Sun was in 2006 and the next time will be on 11 November 2019.

http://www.nasa.gov

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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