Transit of Mercury, May 9, 2016
On May 9, 2016, Mercury will be visible crossing the face of the sun from 7:12 a.m. to 2:42 p.m. EDT. A telescope with proper solar protection is needed to see Mercury’s tiny disk. See our Complete Coverage of the Mercury Transit of 2016
November 2006 Mercury Transit
As a comparison for the May 9 Mercury transit, this image shows the path of Mercury during the November 2006 transit. See our Complete Coverage of the Mercury Transit of 2016
Martian Mercury Transit
Mercury transits can also be seen from Mars! This view from NASA's Curiosity rover shows a transit of Mercury (indicated by white bars) as seen from Mars on June 3, 2014. Two sunspots are also visible. See our Complete Coverage of the Mercury Transit of 2016
A Mercury Transit from Mars
This comparison shows five different versions of observations that NASA's Curiosity rover made about one hour apart while Mercury was passing in front of the sun on June 3, 2014. Two sunspots, each about the diameter of Earth, also appear in the images, moving much less during the hour than Mercury's movement. See our Complete Coverage of the Mercury Transit of 2016