That Tiny Dot? It’s the
2019 Transit of Mercury
On Monday, Nov. 11, the planet Mercury will glide across the sun.
Mercury is the fastest planet, and if it orbited on the same plane as Earth we would see it pass in front of the sun every 166 days.
But Mercury’s orbit is tipped, so we only see it cross the sun in the rare November or May when Mercury rises or falls directly between the Earth and sun.
Mercury will appear as a tiny black dot at 7:35 a.m. Eastern time. Its full transit across the sun will take five and a half hours.
How to watch the transit
Do not look directly at the sun.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory will post images and video in near real time, or search for a local astronomy club. The transit will be most visible in the Americas, especially along the East Coast, and Mercury will already be crossing when the sun rises on the West Coast.
The 2016 Transit of Mercury
