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Watch Transit of Mercury as Planet Passes in Front of Sun: VIDEO

Rare astrological event occurs about 13 times every century. Here are details of the Monday, May 9, 2016, Transit of Mercury.

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The Transit of Mercury is a rare astrological event that only happens about 13 times a century. The last time was in 2006 and the next time will be in 2019.

Simply put, Mercury will cross in front of the Sun from our Earthly vantage point.

Jane Houston Jones of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab said in a posting, “You'll need to view the sun and Mercury through a solar filter when looking through a telescope or when projecting the image of the solar disk onto a safe surface. Look a little south of the sun's Equator.”

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In Michigan’s Eastern Time Zone, the transit will begin around 8:30 a.m. and last until 2:45 p.m.

Because looking directly at the sun with the naked eye is dangerous and can cause serious eye damage, experts recommend using a good telescope with a solar filter to see Mercury silhouetted against the sun.

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Astronomer from the Cranbrook Observatory at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to explain some of the details the rare transit. More details are found here.

See Also

If you miss Monday’s event, the next Mercury transit will be Nov. 11, 2019.

Check out NASA’s video on the Transit of Mercury, published Friday morning.

Image credit: NASA

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