Transit of Mercury: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

All Topics

Transit of Mercury

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

	Transit of Mercury
	Home Discussion
	Topics Transit of Mercury Topic Home A transitAstronomical transit The term transit or astronomical transit has two meanings in astronomy:... of MercuryMercury (planet) Overview Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun, orbiting at an average distance of about 58 million kilometers.... across the SunSun \|+ The Sun \|+\|-\| colspan="2" align="center" \| \|-... takes place when the planetPlanet The International Astronomical Union , the official scientific body for astronomical nomenclature, currently defines "plane... Mercury comes between the Sun and the EarthEarth Earth is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest.... , and Mercury is seen as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. On November 8, 2006, the planet Mercury could be last seen going across the sun. The best place to have observed the transit on that date was in HawaiiHawaii Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959.... . Transits of MercuryMercury (planet) Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun, orbiting at an average distance of about 58 million kilometers.... with respect to Earth are much more frequent than transits of VenusTransit of Venus A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring... , with about 13 or 14 per century, in part because Mercury is closer to the SunSun \|+ The Sun \|+\|-\| colspan="2" align="center" \| \|-... and orbits it more rapidly. Transits of Mercury can happen in May or November. November transits occur at intervals of 7, 13, or 33 years ; May transits only occur at intervals of 13 or 33 years. The last three transits occurred in 1999, 2003 and 2006 ; the next will occur in 2016. During a May transit, Mercury is near aphelion and has an angular diameterAngular diameter The angular diameter of an object as seen from a given position is the diameter measured as an angle.... of 12" ; during a November transit, it is near perihelion and has an angular diameter of 10". Grazing transits of Mercury Sometimes Mercury only grazes the Sun during a transit. In this case it is possible that in some areas of the Earth a full transit can be seen while in other regions there is only a partial transit (no second or third contact). The transit of November 15 1999 was such a transit, and the previous one before that was on October 28, 743743 EventsUmayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik succeeded by al-Walid II ibn Abd al-Malik.... . The next such transit will occur on May 11, 2391. It is also possible that a transit of Mercury can be seen in some parts of the world as a partial transit, while in others Mercury misses the Sun. Such a transit last occurred on May 11 1937, and the previous one was on October 21 1342. The next such transit will occur on May 13, 2608. Simultaneous transits The simultaneous occurrence of a transit of Mercury and a transit of VenusTransit of Venus A transit of Venus* across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, obscuring... is extremely rare, and will next occur only in the years 11th millennium and beyond Several predictions have been made concerning the future following the 11th millennium and beyond.... and 11th millennium and beyond Several predictions have been made concerning the future following the 11th millennium and beyond.... . In September 13, 11th millennium and beyond Several predictions have been made concerning the future following the 11th millennium and beyond.... an almost identical event is predicted : a transit of Mercury and a transit of Venus will follow themselves, one after the other, in an interval of only 16 hours. The simultaneous occurrence of a solar eclipseSolar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth's view o... and a transit of Mercury is very rare. The next solar eclipse occurring during a transit of Mercury will be on July 5, 6757, and will be visible in Eastern Siberia. See also Astronomical transitAstronomical transit The term transit or astronomical transit has two meanings in astronomy:... Black Drop EffectFacts About Black drop effect The black drop effect is an optical phenomenon visible during a transit of Venus.... External links