Mini Mercury skips across sun's vast glare in rare transit
Stargazers used solar-filtered binoculars and telescopes to spot Mercury — a tiny black dot — as it passed directly between Earth and the sun on Monday.
Published: 11th November 2019 11:49 PM | Last Updated: 12th November 2019 12:16 AM | A+A A-
Screengrab from video released by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury as it passes between Earth and the sun on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo | NASA, AP)
CAPE CANAVERAL: Mini Mercury is skipping across the vast, glaring face of the sun in a rare celestial transit.
Stargazers used solar-filtered binoculars and telescopes to spot Mercury — a tiny black dot — as it passed directly between Earth and the sun on Monday.
The eastern U.S. and Canada get the whole 5 ½-hour show, along with Central and South America. The rest of the world, except for Asia and Australia, get just a sampling.
Mercury is the solar system's smallest, innermost planet. The next transit isn't until 2032, and North America won't get another shot until 2049.
At Cape Canaveral, Florida, space buffs got a two-for-one. As Mercury's silhouette graced the sun, SpaceX launched 60 small satellites for global internet service.
