Comments
Mercury has begun a relatively rare move across the sun.
The solar-planetary ballet got underway just after 7 am on the US east coast with the smallest planet appearing as a tiny black dot on the face of the sun.
The transit was projected to last a total of about seven hours. The last time it happened was 2006. It will happen again three years from now, but then not until 2032.
NASA says the event occurs only about 13 times a century.
The entirety of Mercury’s journey will be viewable to the eastern US and Canada, as well as most of western Europe and South America.
To catch a glimpse, viewers need binoculars or telescopes with protective solar filters. Mercury’s journey can also be seen via a livestream on NASA’s website .
The best vantage points to observe the celestial event, known to astronomers as a transit, are eastern North America, South America, Western Europe and Africa. However, the phenomenon was viewed across India as well on Monday.
In India it was observed from about 4.45 pm to about 7 pm.
“This is a rare astronomical event that takes place roughly only 10 times in a century. Last time it was sighted in 2006,” said Mukesh Sharma from Nehru Planetarium.
Cautioning against trying to see the Mercury transit with the naked eye, Sharma said that a programme had been organised for people to see the celestial event using a solar telescope.
“Venus stands between the earth and Mercury, so it’s a rare moment when Mercury would directly come between the earth and the Sun. However, though much is known about the planet Mercury, the transit would still be useful for the researchers,” said Sharma. Mercury, the smallest planet and the one closest to the sun, takes 88 earth days to orbit around it.
The transit of Mercury was originally recorded by French astronomer Pierre Gassendi, who viewed it through a telescope in 1631, two decades after the instrument was invented.
German astronomer Johannes Kepler had correctly predicted that transit. Unfortuntely, he died before he could actually witness the event.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.