Transit of Mercury

A transit of Mercury is when the planet Mercury bravely travels right between our Sun and Earth. When this happens, Mercury looks like a super small, dark speck moving across the bright face of the Sun. It’s like watching a tiny bug crawl across a giant flashlight beam! These amazing events don't happen every day, but when they do, they are a special treat for sky watchers.

Mercury’s journey across the Sun is a bit like a special appointment. It only happens in May or November because of how Mercury and Earth orbit the Sun. The last few times were in 2003, 2006, 2016, and 2019. The next one will be in 2032! A transit can last for a few hours, giving you plenty of time to imagine Mercury on its big adventure.

Mercury is a super-fast planet because it’s much closer to the Sun than Earth is. Think of it like a race car on an inner track – it has a shorter distance to run and goes much quicker! This makes Mercury zip around the Sun faster than any other planet. Because it’s so speedy and close, Mercury transits happen more often than transits of other planets, about 13 or 14 times every 100 years.

Guess what? In 2014, a robot explorer named Curiosity, which is a Mars rover, saw Mercury transit the Sun! This was super special because it was the first time anyone had ever watched a planet pass in front of the Sun from another planet or moon. It’s like seeing a picture of a bird flying past your window, but from a different house!