At least part of the transit, which only happens about 13 times every century, will be visible across the Americas, Europe, Africa and large portions of Asia.
If you're hoping to watch it, eye protection is key. NASA stresses that "viewing this event safely requires a telescope or high-powered binoculars fitted with solar filters made of specially-coated glass or Mylar."
You won't be able to see the tiny dot of Mercury on its celestial crawl without magnification, NASA says.
Another option: Check out one of the multiple live-streaming events going on Monday. NASA says it will stream the transit here, here and here. The European Space Agency will also have a live stream.
Vox explains why transits like this are so rare:
"For a transit to occur, the sun, Mercury, and Earth all have to line up directly. But Mercury's orbit is inclined by about 7 degrees compared with Earth's. So there are only two spots where the two planets could conceivably line up with the sun — the places where Mercury crosses the Earth's orbital plane. …show more content…
If Mercury, which takes 88 days to orbit the sun, is also wandering through at the same time, a transit occurs. This happens once every seven or eight years."
It's not all about the show — transits like this one have historically been, and continue to be, important research opportunities for scientists. First observed in the 1631, the transits were later used to "measure the distance between the Earth and the Sun," NASA
If you're hoping to watch it, eye protection is key. NASA stresses that "viewing this event safely requires a telescope or high-powered binoculars fitted with solar filters made of specially-coated glass or Mylar."
You won't be able to see the tiny dot of Mercury on its celestial crawl without magnification, NASA says.
Another option: Check out one of the multiple live-streaming events going on Monday. NASA says it will stream the transit here, here and here. The European Space Agency will also have a live stream.
Vox explains why transits like this are so rare:
"For a transit to occur, the sun, Mercury, and Earth all have to line up directly. But Mercury's orbit is inclined by about 7 degrees compared with Earth's. So there are only two spots where the two planets could conceivably line up with the sun — the places where Mercury crosses the Earth's orbital plane. …show more content…
If Mercury, which takes 88 days to orbit the sun, is also wandering through at the same time, a transit occurs. This happens once every seven or eight years."
It's not all about the show — transits like this one have historically been, and continue to be, important research opportunities for scientists. First observed in the 1631, the transits were later used to "measure the distance between the Earth and the Sun," NASA