Hopefully, many of you got a chance to watch the transit of planet Mercury across the Sun today, either directly using telescopes (weather permitting) or via some of the excellent webcasts and images on the Internet.
The transit started at 7:35 a.m. ET and it took about five and a half hours for Mercury to amble across the face of the Sun. The transit was visible to most viewers across the Americas, Africa and Europe, but it required telescopes with protective solar filters to see the tiny dot in front of the mighty Sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in space had a front row seat to the event and captured some images that are simply out-of-the-world.
Mercury transits are rare (although not as rare as those of Venus) because its orbital plane is tilted relative to earth’s orbital plane; there are 13 or 14 per century; the next one will not occur until Nov 2032.
Let’s take a look at some of the best images posted by NASA, other organizations and amateurs from around the world.
This video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury and the Sun in their full majesty -
Can you spot Mercury in the image below?
A clean and clear look at the transit by NASA. Of course. Also, astronomers are looking for transits in far away stars by measuring tiny periodic dimming of starlight; its one reliable method to discover exoplanets.
Check out the NASA website for more images and videos of the transit, taken in different light wavelengths.
A creative image by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls, when the Sun was quite high in the sky.
And it is a full moon tonight to boot.
Did you know that Mercury was traveling backwards as seen from Earth?
The path of Mercury — today and on transits before.
A closer look at Mercury, as taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft.
Mercury rotates in a way that is unique in the Solar System. It is tidally locked with the Sun in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, meaning that relative to the fixed stars, it rotates on its axis exactly three times for every two revolutions it makes around the Sun.
Having almost no atmosphere to retain heat, it has surface temperatures that vary diurnally more than on any other planet in the Solar System, ranging from −173 °C at night to 427 °C during the day across the equatorial regions. The polar regions are constantly below −93 °C.
Check out solarsystem.nasa.gov/… for more info about Mercury.
Did you know that in about one billion years, the Sun’s luminosity will increase by 10% higher destroying all life on Earth? In 5 billion years the Sun will grow as a Red Giant and will engulf Mercury, Venus, and probably Earth. en.wikipedia.org/...
Space Art by Ron Miller and others -
Oops! The caption for the image below, in case it does not show is — “This photo of the transit of mercury fried my telescope’s imaging sensor :( #Nofilter”
Mercury is in the eye of the beholder!
It was a great day for students of all ages.
The budding scientists -
Observatories and astro nerds had a ball ...
Here is NASA’s video of the Mercury transit of 2016, with a mind-blowing backdrop of the Sun.
Please add this to your calendar!
How did you watch Mercury today? Did it help take your mind off the sordid world of trump news and reflect on the mysteries of the Universe and our place in it? Did you manage to take some pictures?