Mercury Transit 2019: Here's why this celestial event is so rare
By
Joe Rao
Published Nov 5, 2019 3:47 PM EST
Grab your telescopes and get some solar filters ready. A rare transit of Mercury across the sun will occur on Nov. 11. This rare astronomical event won't happen again until 2032, so don't miss out!
On Monday, Nov. 11, a most unusual event will take place: the transit (passage) of the planet Mercury across the sun's disk.
Such
a sight is a relatively rare occurrence as seen from Earth. From our
perspective, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible. This event
will be the fourth of 14 transits of Mercury that will occur during the
21st century. In contrast, transits of Venus occur in pairs, with more than a century separating each pair.
Mercury will take nearly 5.5 hours to cross in front of the sun. The transit will be widely visible from most of the Earth, including the Americas, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and western Asia. It will not be visible from central and eastern Asia, Japan, Indonesia and Australia.
Mercury crossed the face of the sun on May 9, 2016 during a rare transit that delighted skywatchers around the world. It will happen again on Nov. 11, 2019. (Image: © NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO/Genna Duberstein)
The transit begins before sunrise for observers in western North
America. On a map of the United States, draw a line from roughly Lake
Charles, Louisiana, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Anywhere to the west
of that line will have Mercury already silhouetted against the sun's
disk as it rises that morning. The transit ends after sunset for Europe,
Africa, western Asia and the Middle East, with Mercury still on the
sun's disk as it vanishes below the west-southwest horizon.
The
entire transit will be visible from start to finish over eastern North
America, Central and South America, southern Greenland and a small slice
of West Africa.
First contact is when the disk of Mercury first touches the eastern (left) edge of the sun. It takes about two minutes for the disk of Mercury to completely move onto the sun's disk (second contact). The greatest transit is when Mercury will appear nearest to the center of the sun. Third contact is when the forward edge of Mercury reaches the western (right) edge of the sun. Two minutes later, Mercury completely leaves the sun's disk (fourth contact).
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News / Weather News
Mercury Transit 2019: Here's why this celestial event is so rare
By Joe Rao
Published Nov 5, 2019 3:47 PM EST
Grab your telescopes and get some solar filters ready. A rare transit of Mercury across the sun will occur on Nov. 11. This rare astronomical event won't happen again until 2032, so don't miss out!
On Monday, Nov. 11, a most unusual event will take place: the transit (passage) of the planet Mercury across the sun's disk.
Such a sight is a relatively rare occurrence as seen from Earth. From our perspective, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible. This event will be the fourth of 14 transits of Mercury that will occur during the 21st century. In contrast, transits of Venus occur in pairs, with more than a century separating each pair.
Mercury will take nearly 5.5 hours to cross in front of the sun. The transit will be widely visible from most of the Earth, including the Americas, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and western Asia. It will not be visible from central and eastern Asia, Japan, Indonesia and Australia.
Mercury crossed the face of the sun on May 9, 2016 during a rare transit that delighted skywatchers around the world. It will happen again on Nov. 11, 2019. (Image: © NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO/Genna Duberstein)
The transit begins before sunrise for observers in western North America. On a map of the United States, draw a line from roughly Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Anywhere to the west of that line will have Mercury already silhouetted against the sun's disk as it rises that morning. The transit ends after sunset for Europe, Africa, western Asia and the Middle East, with Mercury still on the sun's disk as it vanishes below the west-southwest horizon.
The entire transit will be visible from start to finish over eastern North America, Central and South America, southern Greenland and a small slice of West Africa.
First contact is when the disk of Mercury first touches the eastern (left) edge of the sun. It takes about two minutes for the disk of Mercury to completely move onto the sun's disk (second contact). The greatest transit is when Mercury will appear nearest to the center of the sun. Third contact is when the forward edge of Mercury reaches the western (right) edge of the sun. Two minutes later, Mercury completely leaves the sun's disk (fourth contact).
Click here to continue reading on SPACE.com.
Report a Typo