Mercury Transit from TRACE (White Light)
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- Visualizations by:
- Dawn C. Myers
- View full credits
This is a view of the planet Mercury (a black dot) as seen by TRACE through its white light optical telescope. Because the TRACE field-of-view is much smaller than the solar disk, the spacecraft is repointed three times during the transit (creating the position jumps of the movie).
This movie was generated from telemetry which has undergone a minimum of processing (to deliver quickly for the media) so data dropouts and other quick-processing artifacts may be visible. Special thanks to Dawn Myers of the TRACE project for this effort.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
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Animators
- Dawn C. Myers (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Scientist
- Neal Hurlburt (LMSAL)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
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TRACE White Light
ID: 621
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Related Pages
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ID: 12232 Produced Video
Mercury Transit Live Shots May 9, 2016
Read moreNASA will broadcast a stunning view of Mercury on May 9 as it journeys across the sun. The event, known as a transit, occurs when Mercury passes directly between Earth and the sun. This rare phenomenon will cause Mercury to look like a black dot gliding across the sun’s face. Mercury’s last transit was in 2006, and it won’t happen again until 2019!Starting at 7:12 a.m. EDT, Mercury will spend more than seven hours travelling across the sun. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory will take the first near real time, ultra-high definition images ever for this event. This is also an opportunity for NASA scientists to fine tune the spacecraft’s cameras, using a method that can only be done during a transit. NASA scientists are available Monday, May 9 from 6:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EDT to show your viewers amazing images of this event as it unfolds. Scientists will also share why transits are important, and how they’re being used to learn more about planets in our solar system—and beyond. Scientists have been using transits for hundreds of years to study the planets in our solar system. When a planet crosses in front of the sun, it causes the sun’s brightness to dim. Scientists can measure similar brightness dips from other stars to find planets orbiting them, and can calculate their sizes, how far away the planets are from their stars, and even get hints of what they’re made of. Upcoming NASA missions will watch for transits outside our solar system in order to find new planets, including some that could resemble Earth.****To book a window***Contact Claire Saravia – claire.g.desaravia@nasa.govSuggested questions: 1.Mercury is trekking across the sun today for the first time in 10 years. How can we see this transit?2.Why are transits so important to astronomers? 3.Why does NASA watch the sun?4.NASA is using the transit method to study planets beyond our solar system. What do we expect to learn from future missions doing this? 5.Where can we learn more? HD Satellite Coordinates for AMC9-K17: AMC-9 Ku-band Xp 17 Slot AB| 83.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12045.8 MHz | Horizontal Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio EmbeddedMercury Transit Gallery Page ||
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ID: 12207 Produced Video
Mercury In Our Sights
Read moreSkywatchers will have a chance to see Mercury sail across the sun on May 9, 2016. || c-1024.jpg (1024x576) [113.3 KB] || c-1280.jpg (1280x720) [151.1 KB] || c-1024_print.jpg (1024x576) [121.7 KB] || c-1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [68.0 KB] || c-1024_web.png (320x180) [68.0 KB] || c-1024_thm.png (80x40) [14.9 KB] ||
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