Sun ID: 12235

2016 Mercury Transit Timelapse

Released on May 9, 2016

Around 13 times per century, Mercury passes between Earth and the sun in a rare astronomical event known as a planetary transit. Mercury orbits in a plane that is tilted from Earth’s orbit, moving above or below our line of sight to the sun.

The 2016 Mercury transit occurred on May 9th, between about 7:12 a.m. and 2:42 p.m. EDT.

The images in this video are from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO.

Transits provide a great opportunity to study the way planets and stars move in space– information that has been used throughout the ages to better understand the solar system and which still helps scientists today calibrate their instruments.

Composite image of Mercury transiting across the sun on May 9, 2016, as seen by HMI on NASA's Solar Dynamics Obersvatory. HMI is an instrument designed to study the magnetic field at the solar surface, or photosphere.

Credit: NASA/SDO

Used Elsewhere In

Credits

Genna Duberstein (USRA): Lead Producer
Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Data Visualizer
Barbara Thompson (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Sarah Schlieder (NASA/GSFC): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12235

Mission:
SDO

This item is part of these series:
Narrated Movies
Mercury Transit 2016

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Mercury
SVS >> Solar Wind
SVS >> Transit
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Flares
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Ultraviolet
SVS >> Space Weather
SVS >> SDO
SVS >> Solar Dynamics Observatory
SVS >> Heliophysics
SVS >> Corona
NASA Science >> Sun

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0