The solar system’s smallest planet set to sprint across sun
CELESTIAL EVENT: Mercury Transit, which hasn’t happened since 2006, occurring early out west
Look unto the heavens Monday morning and you’ll see a rare celestial sight — the planet Mercury trekking across the face of the sun.
Astronomers call it Mercury Transit, a phenomenon that occurs when the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet lines up directly between Earth and the sun.
“Over the course of 71/2 hours, you’ll see a black dot marching across the sun,” said Arnold Sikkema, a physics professor at Trinity Western University, who will be setting up a viewing station using a SunSpotter, which projects an image of the sun on paper, on the porch of the Neufeld Science Centre at TWU’s Langley campus starting at 7:30 a.m.
“It gives you a sense of scale, like ‘Wow, what a big universe,’ ” said Sikkema. “It’s a neat opportunity for the public to see something astronomical they don’t normally see.”
Mercury Transit occurs about 13 times every century. The last time was in 2006; the next ones will be in 2019 and 2032.
Monday’s transit starts at 4:12 a.m. PST, but the earliest B.C. skygazers can view the event will be after sunrise at 5:37 a.m. According to NASA, which will livestream the event, the planet will reach the halfway point at 7:47 a.m. and exit the sun at 11:42 a.m.
Because of its small size — Mercury is about a third the size of Earth — its journey won’t be visible to the naked eye. The transit can only be seen with solar telescopes or telescopes and high-powered binoculars equipped with solar filters.
People shouldn’t gaze at the sun directly, not even with sunglasses, as they risk eye damage, warned Suzanna Nagy, president of the Vancouver chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
She and several members of the society will be lugging their gear to the 200 Granville St. plaza in downtown Vancouver so commuters streaming in and out of Waterfront Station can view the event through their solar telescopes from 8 to 11:30 a.m.