How To See The Transit Of Mercury

By Sara Hammond, Sky Schaudt
Published: Monday, May 9, 2016 - 9:42am
Updated: Monday, May 9, 2016 - 10:02am
(Photo by NASA)
The Transit of Mercury lasts more than seven hours.

The Transit of Mercury — the planet Mercury passing in front of the sun — is happening Monday morning, and there are lots of ways to see the rare celestial event.

University of Arizona's Mount Lemmon SkyCenter is providing live updates on its Facebook page, and there is coverage of the event at NASA.gov through late morning.

Check out Sky & Telescope's live feed, which includes images from Kitt Peak Observatory in southern Arizona.

Mercury passes between the Earth and the sun about a dozen times each century. The last time was in 2006 and the next time won't be until 2019.

Near-Live Images From NASA


Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Transits Of Mercury In The 21st Century

Here's a look at all the transits visible from Earth this century.

May 7, 2003Nov. 7, 2039Nov. 14, 2078
Nov. 8, 2006May 7, 2049Nov. 7, 2085
May 9, 2016Nov. 9, 2052May 8, 2095
Nov. 11, 2019May 10, 2062Nov. 10, 2098
Nov. 13, 2032Nov. 11, 2065
Science