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APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 5:09 am
by APOD Robot
A Mercury Transit Sequence
Explanation: Tomorrow -- Monday --
Mercury will cross the
face of the
Sun, as
seen from Earth. Called a
transit, the last time this happened was in
2016. Because the
plane of Mercury's orbit is not exactly coincident with the
plane of Earth's orbit, Mercury usually
appears to pass over or under the Sun. The featured time-lapse sequence, superimposed on a single frame, was taken from a balcony in
Belgium shows the entire
transit of 2003 May 7. That
solar crossing lasted over five hours, so that the above 23 images were taken roughly 15 minutes apart. The
north pole of the
Sun, the
Earth's orbit, and
Mercury's orbit, although all different, all occur in directions slightly above the left of the image. Near the center and on the far right,
sunspots are visible. After
Monday, the next
transit of Mercury will occur in 2032.
Re: APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 12:13 pm
by futurejohn
When I first go to APOD, the image is 90° off so it looks like Mercury's orbit is on a vertical plane. It's the correct horizontal plane when I click on the image, though.
Re: APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:44 pm
by Guest
futurejohn wrote: ↑Sun Nov 10, 2019 12:13 pm
When I first go to APOD, the image is 90° off so it looks like Mercury's orbit is on a vertical plane. It's the correct horizontal plane when I click on the image, though.
Thanks for that insight. I often don't choose the 'click-on' feature, and I was a bit confused today until I saw your post. I wish they'd have drawn Earth's orbit in for those of my ilk lol...
Re: APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:53 pm
by orin stepanek
Ahh; Mercury! You're a real Hottie!!
![eyebrows :eyebrows:](./images/smilies/eyebrows.gif)
Re: APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 3:13 pm
by De58te
Both images are off. According to NASA's illustration the transit would look more like the first one ascending from left to right, but not as steep and a bit closer to the Sun's centre this time. That's because Mercury always ascends in the orbit in November and descends in May. So the second picture was taken in May.
Re: APOD: A Mercury Transit Sequence (2019 Nov 10)
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2019 11:59 pm
by bls0326
11/11/2019 I just watched a replay of the full transit on the NASA site. Mercury sure looks insignificant against the Sun.