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Transit of Mercury

April 13, 2024

A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet. During a transit, Mercury appears as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun as the planet obscures a small portion of the solar disk. Because of orbital alignments, transits viewed from Earth occur in May or November. The last four such transits occurred on May 7, 2003; November 8, 2006; May 9, 2016; and November 11, 2019. The next will occur on November 13, 2032. A typical transit lasts several hours. Mercury transits are much more frequent than transits of Venus, with about 13 or 14 per century, primarily because Mercury is closer to the Sun and orbits it more rapidly.

The transit of Mercury on May 9, 2016. Mercury is visible to the lower left of center. A sun spot is visible above center.
Mercury transiting the Sun as viewed by the rover Curiosity on Mars (June 3, 2014).[1]

On June 3, 2014, the Mars rover Curiosity observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth.[1]

Scientific investigation edit

The orbit of the planet Mercury lies interior to that of the Earth, and thus it can come into an inferior conjunction with the Sun. When Mercury is near the node of its orbit, it passes through the orbital plane of the Earth. If an inferior conjunction occurs as Mercury is passing through its orbital node, the planet can be seen to pass across the disk of the Sun in an event called a transit. Depending on the chord of the transit and the position of the planet Mercury in its orbit, the maximum length of this event is 7h 50m.[2]

Transit events are useful for studying the planet and its orbit. Examples of the scientific investigations based on transits of Mercury are:

  • Measuring the scale of the Solar System.[3]
  • Investigations of the variability of the Earth's rotation and of the tidal acceleration of the Moon.[4][5][6][7]
  • Measuring the mass of Venus from secular variations in Mercury's orbit.[8]: 367 
  • Looking for long term variations in the solar radius.[9][10]
  • Investigating the black drop effect, including calling into question the purported discovery of the atmosphere of Venus during the 1761 transit.[11][12][13]
  • Assessing the likely drop in light level in an exoplanet transit.[14]

Occurrence edit

Transits of Mercury can only occur when the Earth is aligned with a node of Mercury's orbit. Currently that alignment occurs within a few days of May 8 (descending node) and November 10 (ascending node), with the angular diameter of Mercury being about 12″ for May transits, and 10″ for November transits. The average date for a transit increases over centuries as a result of Mercury's nodal precession and Earth's axial precession.

Transits of Mercury occur on a regular basis. As explained in 1882 by Newcomb,[8]: 477–487  the interval between passages of Mercury through the ascending node of its orbit is 87.969 days, and the interval between the Earth's passage through that same longitude is 365.254 days. Using continued fraction approximations of the ratio of these values, it can be shown that Mercury will make an almost integral number of revolutions about the Sun over intervals of 6, 7, 13, 33, 46, and 217 years.

In 1894 Crommelin[15] noted that at these intervals, the successive paths of Mercury relative to the Sun are consistently displaced northwards or southwards. He noted the displacements as:

Displacements at subsequent transits
Interval May
transits		 November
transits
After 6 years 65′ 37″ S 31′ 35″ N
After 7 years 48′ 21″ N 23′ 16″ S
Hence after 13 years (6 + 7) 17′ 16″ S 08′ 19″ N
... 20 years (6 + 2 × 7) 31′ 05″ N 14′ 57″ S
... 33 years (2 × 6 + 3 × 7) 13′ 49″ N 06′ 38″ S
... 46 years (3 × 13 + 7) 03′ 27″ S   1′ 41″ N
... 217 years (14 × 13 + 5 × 7) 00′ 17″ N 00′ 14″ N

Comparing these displacements with the solar diameter (about 31.7′ in May, and 32.4′ in November) the following may be deduced about the interval between transits:

  • For May transits, intervals of 6 and 7 years are not possible. For November transits, an interval of 6 years is possible but rare (the last such pair was 1993 and 1999, with both transits being very close to the solar limb), while an interval of 7 years is to be expected.
  • An interval of 13 years is to be expected for both May and November transits.
  • An interval of 20 years is possible but rare for a May transit, but is to be expected for November transits.
  • An interval of 33 years is to be expected for both May and November transits.
  • A transit having a similar path across the sun will occur 46 (and 171) years later – for both November and May transits.
  • A transit having an almost identical path across the Sun will occur 217 years later – for both November and May transits.

Transits that occur 46 years apart can be grouped into a series. For November transits each series includes about 20 transits over 874 years, with the path of Mercury across the Sun passing further north than for the previous transit. For May transits each series includes about 10 transits over 414 years, with the path of Mercury across the Sun passing further south than for the previous transit. Some authors[16] have allocated a series number to transits on the basis of this 46-year grouping.

Similarly transits that occur 217 years apart can be grouped into a series. For November transits each series would include about 135 transits over 30,000 years. For May transits each series would include about 110 transits over 24,000 years. For both the May and November series, the path of Mercury across the Sun passes further north than for the previous transit. Series numbers have not been traditionally allocated on the basis of the 217 year grouping.

Predictions of transits of Mercury covering many years are available at NASA,[16] SOLEX,[17] and Fourmilab.[18]

Observation edit

At inferior conjunction, the planet Mercury subtends an angle of 12″, which, during a transit, is too small to be seen without a telescope.[19] A common observation made at a transit[20] is recording the times when the disk of Mercury appears to be in contact with the limb of the Sun.[21] Those contacts are traditionally referred to as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th contacts – with the 2nd and 3rd contacts occurring when the disk of Mercury is fully on the disk of the sun.[22] As a general rule, 1st and 4th contacts cannot be accurately detected,[7] while 2nd and 3rd contacts are readily visible within the constraints of the Black Drop effect,[23] irradiation, atmospheric conditions, and the quality of the optics being used.[24]

Observed contact times for transits between 1677 and 1881 are given in S Newcomb's analysis of transits of Mercury.[8]: 367  Observed 2nd and 3rd contacts times for transits between 1677 and 1973 are given in Royal Greenwich Observatory Bulletin No.181, 359-420 (1975).[25]

Partial edit

 
November 15, 1999 simulated transit of Mercury across the Sun.

Sometimes Mercury appears to only graze the Sun during a transit. There are two possible scenarios:

  • Firstly, it is possible for a transit to occur such that, at mid-transit, the disk of Mercury has fully entered the disk of the Sun as seen from some parts of the world, while as seen from other parts of the world the disk of Mercury has only partially entered the disk of the Sun. The transit of November 15, 1999 was such a transit,[26][27][28] with the transit being a full transit for most of the world, but only a partial transit for Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. The previous such transit was on October 28, 743 and the next will be on May 11, 2391. While these events are very rare, two such transits will occur within 2+1⁄2 years in December 6149 and June 6152.[18]
  • Secondly, it is possible for a transit to occur in which, at mid-transit, the disk of Mercury has partially entered the disk of the Sun as seen from some parts of the world, while as seen from other parts of the world Mercury completely misses the Sun. Such a transit last occurred on May 11, 1937, when a partial transit occurred in southern Africa and southern Asia and no transit was visible from Europe and northern Asia.[29] The previous such transit was on October 21, 1342 and the next will be on May 13, 2608.[citation needed]

The possibility that, at mid-transit, Mercury is seen to be fully on the solar disk from some parts of the world, and completely miss the Sun as seen from other parts of the world cannot occur.[citation needed]

History edit

The first observation of a Mercury transit was observed on November 7, 1631 by Pierre Gassendi. He was surprised by the small size of the planet compared to the Sun. Johannes Kepler had predicted the occurrence of transits of Mercury and Venus in his ephemerides published in 1630.[30]

Images of the November 15, 1999 transit from the Transition Region and Coronal explorer (TRACE) satellite were on Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on November 19.[31] Three APODs featured the May 9, 2016 transit.[32][33][34]

1832 event edit

The Shuckburgh telescope of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London was used for the 1832 Mercury transit.[35] It was equipped with a micrometer by Dollond and was used for a report of the events as seen through the small refractor.[35] By observing the transit in combination with timing it and taking measures, a diameter for the planet was taken.[35] They also reported the peculiar effects that they compared to pressing a coin into the Sun.[35] The observer remarked:

I afterwards observed, that immediately around the planet there was a dusky tinge, making it appear as if, in a small degree sunk below the sun's surface.

— Royal Astronomical Society, Vol II, No. 13[35]

1907 event edit

For the 1907 Mercury transit, telescopes used at the Paris Observatory included:[36]

  • Foucault-Eichens reflector (40 centimetres (16 in) aperture)
  • Foucault-Eichens reflector (20 centimetres (7.9 in) aperture)
  • Martin-Eichens reflector (40 centimetres (16 in) aperture)
  • Several small refractors

The telescopes were mobile and were placed on the terrace for the several observations.[36]

Chronology edit

The table below includes all historical transits of Mercury from 1605 on:

Past transits of Mercury[16]
Date of
mid-transit		 Time (UTC) Notes
Start Mid End
1605 Nov 1 18:47 20:02 21:18
1615 May 3 06:44 10:09 13:33
1618 Nov 4 11:10 13:42 16:14
1628 May 5 14:23 17:32 20:40
1631 Nov 7 04:39 07:20 10:01 Observed by Pierre Gassendi.
1644 Nov 9 22:55 00:57 02:58
1651 Nov 3–4 23:09 00:52 02:35 Observed by Jeremy Shakerly in Surat, reported in letter to Henry Osbourne, January 1652. Shakerly is thought to have died in India around 1655.[37]
1661 May 3 13:08 16:54 20:40 Occurred on the day of the coronation of King Charles II of England. Observed by Christiaan Huygens, Nicholas Mercator, and Thomas Streete in Long Acre, London.[38]
1664 Nov 4 15:54 18:32 21:10
1674 May 7 22:01 00:16 02:31
1677 Nov 7 09:33 12:11 14:48 Observed by Edmund Halley in St Helena and Richard Towneley in Lancashire to determine solar parallax, also noted by Jean Charles Gallet in Avignon; as reported in a letter from John Flamsteed to Johannes Hevelius May 23, 1678.[39]
1690 Nov 10 03:59 05:43 07:27
1697 Nov 3 03:40 05:42 07:43
1707 May 5 19:37 23:32 03:27 Observed by Abraham Sharp.[40][16]
1710 Nov 6 20:40 23:22 02:03
1723 Nov 9 14:27 16:59 19:30
1736 Nov 11 09:11 10:30 11:49
1740 May 2 21:42 23:02 00:21
1743 Nov 5 08:15 10:30 12:45
1753 May 6 02:19 06:13 10:06 Coordinated scientific observations were organized by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle worldwide.[41]
1756 Nov 7 01:28 04:10 06:54
1769 Nov 9–10 19:23 21:46 00:10 Observed by Charles Green and James Cook from Mercury Bay in New Zealand.[42] Noted that Mercury had little or no atmosphere.
1776 Nov 2 21:03 21:36 22:09
1782 Nov 12 14:42 15:16 15:50 Observed from Cambridge U.K.[43][16]
1786 May 4 03:01 05:41 08:21
1789 Nov 5 12:53 15:19 17:44
1799 May 7 09:10 12:50 16:31 Observed by Capel Lofft in England.[44]
1802 Nov 9 06:16 08:58 11:41 Observed by William Herschel and Capel Lofft in England.[45][46]
1815 Nov 12 00:20 02:33 04:46
1822 Nov 5 01:04 02:25 03:45
1832 May 5 09:04 12:25 15:47
1835 Nov 7 17:35 20:08 22:41
1845 May 8 16:24 19:37 22:49 Observed by William Lassell.[47]
1848 Nov 9 11:07 13:48 16:28
1861 Nov 12 05:21 07:19 09:18 Partially observed from Malta by William Lassell.[48]
1868 Nov 5 05:28 07:14 09:00
1878 May 6 15:16 19:00 22:44 Observed from Greenwich Observatory.[49]
1881 Nov 6–7 22:19 00:57 03:36 Observed by John Tebbutt.[50]
1891 May 8–9 23:57 02:22 04:47
1894 Nov 10 15:58 18:35 21:11 Observed from Sidmouth, Devon by H.H. Turner and A. F. Lindemann[51]
1907 Nov 14 10:24 12:07 13:50 Observed from Johannesburg by R. T. A. Innes[52]
1914 Nov 7 09:57 12:03 14:09 Seen by several observers across the U.K. including A. Grace Cook and T. E. R. Phillips.[53]
1924 May 8–9 21:44 01:41 05:38 Final stages observed by Basil Brown.[54]
1927 Nov 10 03:02 05:46 08:29 Final stages observed from the U.K.[55]
1937 May 11 08:53 08:59 09:06 Only visible as partial transit in Southern Africa, Southern Arabia, South Asia, and Western Australia.[56]
1940 Nov 11–12 20:49 23:21 01:53 Observed from New South Wales.[57]
1953 Nov 14 15:37 16:54 18:11 Observed from the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope.[58]
1957 May 5–6 23:59 01:14 02:30
1960 Nov 7 14:34 16:53 19:12 [59]
1970 May 9 04:19 08:16 12:13 [60]
1973 Nov 10 07:47 10:32 13:17 [61]
1986 Nov 13 01:43 04:07 06:31 [62]
1993 Nov 6 03:06 03:57 04:47 [63] This brief transit was only visible from the south pole.[64]
1999 Nov 15
 		 21:15 21:41 22:07 [65] Partial transit in Australia, Antarctica, and New Zealand's South Island.
2003 May 7 05:13 07:52 10:32 [66]
2006 Nov 8
 		 18:12 20:41 23:10 [67]
2016 May 9
 		 11:12 14:57 18:42
 
Entire transit in S. America, eastern N. America, western Europe; part of transit everywhere else except Australia and far eastern Asia.[68]
2019 Nov 11
 		 12:35 15:20 18:04  [16]
Future transits of Mercury[16]
Date of
mid-transit		 Time (UTC) Notes
Start Mid End
2032 Nov 13 06:41 08:54 11:07
2039 Nov 7 07:17 08:46 10:15
2049 May 7 11:03 14:24 17:44
2052 Nov 8–9 22:53 01:29 04:06
2062 May 10–11 18:16 21:36 01:00
2065 Nov 11–12 17:24 20:06 22:48
2078 Nov 14 11:42 13:41 15:39
2085 Nov 7 11:42 13:34 15:26
2095 May 8–9 17:20 21:05 00:50
2098 Nov 10 04:35 07:16 09:57
2108 May 12 01:40 04:16 06:52
2111 Nov 14–15 22:15 00:53 03:30
2124 Nov 15 16:49 18:28 20:07

See also edit

Gallery edit

  •  
    Transit of Mercury on November 11, 2019
  •  
    Transit of Mercury on November 8, 2006 with sunspots #921, 922, and 923

References edit

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External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Transits of Mercury.
  • NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NASA: Image from the transit of Mercury in 2003 (27 May 2003)
  • Shadow & Substance.com: Transit of Mercury Animated for November 8, 2006
  • Scroll a little bit down and then click on 40540. You will get then a table from −125,000 till +125,000.
  • Time Lapse of the 9th May 2016 Transit of Mercury
  • Links to high-resolution video from a major solar telescope and more about several transits

April 13, 2024
transit, mercury, transit, mercury, across, takes, place, when, planet, mercury, passes, directly, between, superior, planet, during, transit, mercury, appears, tiny, black, moving, across, planet, obscures, small, portion, solar, disk, because, orbital, align. A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet During a transit Mercury appears as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun as the planet obscures a small portion of the solar disk Because of orbital alignments transits viewed from Earth occur in May or November The last four such transits occurred on May 7 2003 November 8 2006 May 9 2016 and November 11 2019 The next will occur on November 13 2032 A typical transit lasts several hours Mercury transits are much more frequent than transits of Venus with about 13 or 14 per century primarily because Mercury is closer to the Sun and orbits it more rapidly The transit of Mercury on May 9 2016 Mercury is visible to the lower left of center A sun spot is visible above center Mercury transiting the Sun as viewed by the rover Curiosity on Mars June 3 2014 1 On June 3 2014 the Mars rover Curiosity observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth 1 Contents 1 Scientific investigation 1 1 Occurrence 1 2 Observation 1 3 Partial 2 History 2 1 1832 event 2 2 1907 event 3 Chronology 4 See also 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksScientific investigation editThe orbit of the planet Mercury lies interior to that of the Earth and thus it can come into an inferior conjunction with the Sun When Mercury is near the node of its orbit it passes through the orbital plane of the Earth If an inferior conjunction occurs as Mercury is passing through its orbital node the planet can be seen to pass across the disk of the Sun in an event called a transit Depending on the chord of the transit and the position of the planet Mercury in its orbit the maximum length of this event is 7h 50m 2 Transit events are useful for studying the planet and its orbit Examples of the scientific investigations based on transits of Mercury are Measuring the scale of the Solar System 3 Investigations of the variability of the Earth s rotation and of the tidal acceleration of the Moon 4 5 6 7 Measuring the mass of Venus from secular variations in Mercury s orbit 8 367 Looking for long term variations in the solar radius 9 10 Investigating the black drop effect including calling into question the purported discovery of the atmosphere of Venus during the 1761 transit 11 12 13 Assessing the likely drop in light level in an exoplanet transit 14 Occurrence edit Transits of Mercury can only occur when the Earth is aligned with a node of Mercury s orbit Currently that alignment occurs within a few days of May 8 descending node and November 10 ascending node with the angular diameter of Mercury being about 12 for May transits and 10 for November transits The average date for a transit increases over centuries as a result of Mercury s nodal precession and Earth s axial precession Transits of Mercury occur on a regular basis As explained in 1882 by Newcomb 8 477 487 the interval between passages of Mercury through the ascending node of its orbit is 87 969 days and the interval between the Earth s passage through that same longitude is 365 254 days Using continued fraction approximations of the ratio of these values it can be shown that Mercury will make an almost integral number of revolutions about the Sun over intervals of 6 7 13 33 46 and 217 years In 1894 Crommelin 15 noted that at these intervals the successive paths of Mercury relative to the Sun are consistently displaced northwards or southwards He noted the displacements as Displacements at subsequent transits Interval May transits November transitsAfter 6 years 65 37 S 31 35 NAfter 7 years 48 21 N 23 16 SHence after 13 years 6 7 17 16 S 0 8 19 N 20 years 6 2 7 31 05 N 14 57 S 33 years 2 6 3 7 13 49 N 0 6 38 S 46 years 3 13 7 0 3 27 S 1 41 N 217 years 14 13 5 7 0 0 17 N 0 0 14 NComparing these displacements with the solar diameter about 31 7 in May and 32 4 in November the following may be deduced about the interval between transits For May transits intervals of 6 and 7 years are not possible For November transits an interval of 6 years is possible but rare the last such pair was 1993 and 1999 with both transits being very close to the solar limb while an interval of 7 years is to be expected An interval of 13 years is to be expected for both May and November transits An interval of 20 years is possible but rare for a May transit but is to be expected for November transits An interval of 33 years is to be expected for both May and November transits A transit having a similar path across the sun will occur 46 and 171 years later for both November and May transits A transit having an almost identical path across the Sun will occur 217 years later for both November and May transits Transits that occur 46 years apart can be grouped into a series For November transits each series includes about 20 transits over 874 years with the path of Mercury across the Sun passing further north than for the previous transit For May transits each series includes about 10 transits over 414 years with the path of Mercury across the Sun passing further south than for the previous transit Some authors 16 have allocated a series number to transits on the basis of this 46 year grouping Similarly transits that occur 217 years apart can be grouped into a series For November transits each series would include about 135 transits over 30 000 years For May transits each series would include about 110 transits over 24 000 years For both the May and November series the path of Mercury across the Sun passes further north than for the previous transit Series numbers have not been traditionally allocated on the basis of the 217 year grouping Predictions of transits of Mercury covering many years are available at NASA 16 SOLEX 17 and Fourmilab 18 Observation edit At inferior conjunction the planet Mercury subtends an angle of 12 which during a transit is too small to be seen without a telescope 19 A common observation made at a transit 20 is recording the times when the disk of Mercury appears to be in contact with the limb of the Sun 21 Those contacts are traditionally referred to as the 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th contacts with the 2nd and 3rd contacts occurring when the disk of Mercury is fully on the disk of the sun 22 As a general rule 1st and 4th contacts cannot be accurately detected 7 while 2nd and 3rd contacts are readily visible within the constraints of the Black Drop effect 23 irradiation atmospheric conditions and the quality of the optics being used 24 Observed contact times for transits between 1677 and 1881 are given in S Newcomb s analysis of transits of Mercury 8 367 Observed 2nd and 3rd contacts times for transits between 1677 and 1973 are given in Royal Greenwich Observatory Bulletin No 181 359 420 1975 25 Partial edit nbsp November 15 1999 simulated transit of Mercury across the Sun Sometimes Mercury appears to only graze the Sun during a transit There are two possible scenarios Firstly it is possible for a transit to occur such that at mid transit the disk of Mercury has fully entered the disk of the Sun as seen from some parts of the world while as seen from other parts of the world the disk of Mercury has only partially entered the disk of the Sun The transit of November 15 1999 was such a transit 26 27 28 with the transit being a full transit for most of the world but only a partial transit for Australia New Zealand and Antarctica The previous such transit was on October 28 743 and the next will be on May 11 2391 While these events are very rare two such transits will occur within 2 1 2 years in December 6149 and June 6152 18 Secondly it is possible for a transit to occur in which at mid transit the disk of Mercury has partially entered the disk of the Sun as seen from some parts of the world while as seen from other parts of the world Mercury completely misses the Sun Such a transit last occurred on May 11 1937 when a partial transit occurred in southern Africa and southern Asia and no transit was visible from Europe and northern Asia 29 The previous such transit was on October 21 1342 and the next will be on May 13 2608 citation needed The possibility that at mid transit Mercury is seen to be fully on the solar disk from some parts of the world and completely miss the Sun as seen from other parts of the world cannot occur citation needed History editThe first observation of a Mercury transit was observed on November 7 1631 by Pierre Gassendi He was surprised by the small size of the planet compared to the Sun Johannes Kepler had predicted the occurrence of transits of Mercury and Venus in his ephemerides published in 1630 30 Images of the November 15 1999 transit from the Transition Region and Coronal explorer TRACE satellite were on Astronomy Picture of the Day APOD on November 19 31 Three APODs featured the May 9 2016 transit 32 33 34 1832 event editThe Shuckburgh telescope of the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London was used for the 1832 Mercury transit 35 It was equipped with a micrometer by Dollond and was used for a report of the events as seen through the small refractor 35 By observing the transit in combination with timing it and taking measures a diameter for the planet was taken 35 They also reported the peculiar effects that they compared to pressing a coin into the Sun 35 The observer remarked I afterwards observed that immediately around the planet there was a dusky tinge making it appear as if in a small degree sunk below the sun s surface Royal Astronomical Society Vol II No 13 35 1907 event edit For the 1907 Mercury transit telescopes used at the Paris Observatory included 36 Foucault Eichens reflector 40 centimetres 16 in aperture Foucault Eichens reflector 20 centimetres 7 9 in aperture Martin Eichens reflector 40 centimetres 16 in aperture Several small refractorsThe telescopes were mobile and were placed on the terrace for the several observations 36 Chronology editThe table below includes all historical transits of Mercury from 1605 on Past transits of Mercury 16 Date ofmid transit Time UTC NotesStart Mid End1605 Nov 1 18 47 20 02 21 181615 May 3 06 44 10 09 13 331618 Nov 4 11 10 13 42 16 141628 May 5 14 23 17 32 20 401631 Nov 7 04 39 07 20 10 01 Observed by Pierre Gassendi 1644 Nov 9 22 55 00 57 02 581651 Nov 3 4 23 09 00 52 02 35 Observed by Jeremy Shakerly in Surat reported in letter to Henry Osbourne January 1652 Shakerly is thought to have died in India around 1655 37 1661 May 3 13 08 16 54 20 40 Occurred on the day of the coronation of King Charles II of England Observed by Christiaan Huygens Nicholas Mercator and Thomas Streete in Long Acre London 38 1664 Nov 4 15 54 18 32 21 101674 May 7 22 01 00 16 02 311677 Nov 7 09 33 12 11 14 48 Observed by Edmund Halley in St Helena and Richard Towneley in Lancashire to determine solar parallax also noted by Jean Charles Gallet in Avignon as reported in a letter from John Flamsteed to Johannes Hevelius May 23 1678 39 1690 Nov 10 03 59 05 43 07 271697 Nov 3 03 40 05 42 07 431707 May 5 19 37 23 32 03 27 Observed by Abraham Sharp 40 16 1710 Nov 6 20 40 23 22 02 031723 Nov 9 14 27 16 59 19 301736 Nov 11 09 11 10 30 11 491740 May 2 21 42 23 02 00 211743 Nov 5 08 15 10 30 12 451753 May 6 02 19 06 13 10 06 Coordinated scientific observations were organized by Joseph Nicolas Delisle worldwide 41 1756 Nov 7 01 28 04 10 06 541769 Nov 9 10 19 23 21 46 00 10 Observed by Charles Green and James Cook from Mercury Bay in New Zealand 42 Noted that Mercury had little or no atmosphere 1776 Nov 2 21 03 21 36 22 091782 Nov 12 14 42 15 16 15 50 Observed from Cambridge U K 43 16 1786 May 4 03 01 05 41 08 211789 Nov 5 12 53 15 19 17 441799 May 7 09 10 12 50 16 31 Observed by Capel Lofft in England 44 1802 Nov 9 06 16 08 58 11 41 Observed by William Herschel and Capel Lofft in England 45 46 1815 Nov 12 00 20 02 33 04 461822 Nov 5 01 04 02 25 03 451832 May 5 09 04 12 25 15 471835 Nov 7 17 35 20 08 22 411845 May 8 16 24 19 37 22 49 Observed by William Lassell 47 1848 Nov 9 11 07 13 48 16 281861 Nov 12 05 21 07 19 09 18 Partially observed from Malta by William Lassell 48 1868 Nov 5 05 28 07 14 09 001878 May 6 15 16 19 00 22 44 Observed from Greenwich Observatory 49 1881 Nov 6 7 22 19 00 57 03 36 Observed by John Tebbutt 50 1891 May 8 9 23 57 02 22 04 471894 Nov 10 15 58 18 35 21 11 Observed from Sidmouth Devon by H H Turner and A F Lindemann 51 1907 Nov 14 10 24 12 07 13 50 Observed from Johannesburg by R T A Innes 52 1914 Nov 7 09 57 12 03 14 09 Seen by several observers across the U K including A Grace Cook and T E R Phillips 53 1924 May 8 9 21 44 01 41 05 38 Final stages observed by Basil Brown 54 1927 Nov 10 03 02 05 46 08 29 Final stages observed from the U K 55 1937 May 11 08 53 08 59 09 06 Only visible as partial transit in Southern Africa Southern Arabia South Asia and Western Australia 56 1940 Nov 11 12 20 49 23 21 01 53 Observed from New South Wales 57 1953 Nov 14 15 37 16 54 18 11 Observed from the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope 58 1957 May 5 6 23 59 01 14 02 301960 Nov 7 14 34 16 53 19 12 59 1970 May 9 04 19 08 16 12 13 60 1973 Nov 10 07 47 10 32 13 17 61 1986 Nov 13 01 43 04 07 06 31 62 1993 Nov 6 03 06 03 57 04 47 63 This brief transit was only visible from the south pole 64 1999 Nov 15 nbsp 21 15 21 41 22 07 65 Partial transit in Australia Antarctica and New Zealand s South Island 2003 May 7 05 13 07 52 10 32 66 2006 Nov 8 nbsp 18 12 20 41 23 10 67 2016 May 9 nbsp 11 12 14 57 18 42 nbsp Entire transit in S America eastern N America western Europe part of transit everywhere else except Australia and far eastern Asia 68 2019 Nov 11 nbsp 12 35 15 20 18 04 nbsp 16 Future transits of Mercury 16 Date ofmid transit Time UTC NotesStart Mid End2032 Nov 13 06 41 08 54 11 072039 Nov 7 07 17 08 46 10 152049 May 7 11 03 14 24 17 442052 Nov 8 9 22 53 01 29 04 062062 May 10 11 18 16 21 36 01 002065 Nov 11 12 17 24 20 06 22 482078 Nov 14 11 42 13 41 15 392085 Nov 7 11 42 13 34 15 262095 May 8 9 17 20 21 05 00 502098 Nov 10 04 35 07 16 09 572108 May 12 01 40 04 16 06 522111 Nov 14 15 22 15 00 53 03 302124 Nov 15 16 49 18 28 20 07See also editMercury Passing Before the Sun 1914 painting Transit of Mercury from Mars Transit of minor planets Transit of Venus Vulcan hypothetical planet Gallery edit nbsp Transit of Mercury on November 11 2019 nbsp Transit of Mercury on November 8 2006 with sunspots 921 922 and 923References edit a b Webster Guy June 10 2014 Mercury Passes in Front of the Sun as Seen From Mars NASA Retrieved June 10 2014 Todd David Peck 1899 Stars and Telescopes A Hand book of Popular Astronomy Founded on the 9th Ed of Lynn s Celestial Motions Little Brown pp 104 106 Koberlein Brian A Transit Of Mercury Told Us The Scale Of The Universe Forbes Retrieved 2019 11 07 Innes R T A November 1925 Transits of Mercury 1677 1924 5 Differential Corrections to the Tabular Elements Etc Circular of the Union Observatory Johannesburg 65 309 315 Bibcode 1925CiUO 65 309I Spencer Jones H May 1939 The rotation of the earth and the secular accelerations of the sun moon and planets Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 99 7 541 Bibcode 1939MNRAS 99 541S doi 10 1093 mnras 99 7 541 Morrison L V Ward C G October 1975 An analysis of the transits of Mercury 1677 1973 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 173 183 206 Bibcode 1975MNRAS 173 183M doi 10 1093 mnras 173 1 183 a b Lambeck Kurt 2005 The Earth s Variable Rotation Geophysical Causes and Consequences Cambridge University Press p 73 ISBN 9780521673303 a b c Newcomb Simon 1882 Discussion and results of observations on transits of Mercury from 1677 to 1881 United States Nautical Almanac Office Astronomical Paper V 1 1 Nautical Almanac Office 363 Bibcode 1882USNAO 1 363N Parkinson J H et al December 1980 The constancy of the solar diameter over the past 250 years Nature 288 5791 548 551 Bibcode 1980Natur 288 548P doi 10 1038 288548a0 S2CID 4321581 Sigismondi Costantino May 2016 The opportunity of the 2016 transit of Mercury for measuring the solar diameter and recommendations for the observation PDF ePrint arXiv 1605 02084 Bibcode 2016arXiv160502084S Retrieved 2022 05 15 Schneider G et al April 2004 TRACE Observations of the 15 November 1999 Transit of Mercury and the Black Drop Effect Considerations for the 2004 Transit of Venus PDF Icarus 168 2 249 256 Bibcode 2004Icar 168 249S doi 10 1016 j icarus 2003 11 020 Schneider G et al October 2003 Space Studies of the Black Drop Effect at a Mercury Transit Mercury 25th meeting of the IAU Joint Discussion 2 16 July 2003 Sydney Australia meeting abstract id 5 arXiv astro ph 0310379 Bibcode 2003IAUJD 2E 5P Pasachoff Jay M Sheehan William March 2012 Lomonosov the discovery of Venus s atmosphere and the eighteenth century transits of Venus Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 15 1 3 14 Bibcode 2012JAHH 15 3P doi 10 3724 SP J 1440 2807 2012 01 01 S2CID 55848433 Pasachoff Jay M et al September 2008 Total Solar Irradiance at the 2006 Transit of Mercury and Application to Transiting Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 40 404 Bibcode 2008DPS 40 1119P Crommelin A C D December 1894 On the recurrence of transits of Mercury The Observatory 17 394 397 Bibcode 1975RGOB 181 359M a b c d e f g Espenak Fred December 6 2011 Seven century catalog of Mercury transits 1601 CE to 2300 CE NASA Eclipse Web Site Retrieved 2022 05 15 Vitagliano Aldo December 9 2011 The SOLEX page Retrieved 2022 05 15 a b Walker John Quarter Million Year Canon of Solar System Transits fourmilab ch Retrieved 2022 05 15 Fitzgerald A P September 1953 Transits of Mercury Irish Astronomical Journal 2 7 203 Bibcode 1953IrAJ 2 203F How to See Mercury Through a Telescope A Comprehensive Guide Telescopes Geek Telescopesgeek com 1 February 2023 Retrieved 2023 07 20 Morrison L V Ward C G October 1975 An analysis of the transits of Mercury 1677 1973 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 173 183 206 Bibcode 1975MNRAS 173 183M doi 10 1093 mnras 173 1 183 Price Fred W 2000 The Planet Observer s Handbook Cambridge University Press p 98 ISBN 9780521789813 Schneider G et al January 2005 Engvold O ed Space Studies of the Black Drop Effect at a Mercury Transit Highlights of Astronomy Vol 13 as presented at the XXVth General Assembly of the IAU 2003 Sydney Australia 13 26 July 2003 San Francisco CA Astronomical Society of the Pacific p 70 Bibcode 2005HiA 13 70S ISBN 1 58381 189 3 Johnson Diane 1982 The Shrinking Sun Mosaic 13 1 The Foundation 7 12 Morrison L V Ward C G 1975 Collected observations of the transits of Mercury 1677 1973 Royal Observatory Bulletin 181 359 420 Bibcode 1882USNAO 1 363N 1999 Transit of Mercury nasa gov Retrieved 25 August 2015 The November 15 1999 Transit of Mercury astroleague org Retrieved 25 August 2015 Cudnik Brian M March 2004 Black drops and gray drops multi color CCD observations of the 1999 Mercury transit and application to the 2004 Venus event Journal of the Association of Lunar amp Planetary Observers the Strolling Astronomer 46 1 9 12 Bibcode 2004JALPO 46a 9C Wilson Herbert C January 1937 Planetary Phenomena in 1937 Popular Astronomy 45 27 Bibcode 1937PA 45 27W van Helden Albert 1976 The Importance of the Transit of Mercury of 1631 Journal for the History of Astronomy 7 1 Bibcode 1976JHA 7 1V doi 10 1177 002182867600700101 S2CID 220916972 Nemiroff R Bonnell J eds 19 November 1999 Mercury And The Sun Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA Nemiroff R Bonnell J eds 11 May 2016 A Mercury Transit Music Video from SDO Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA Nemiroff R Bonnell J eds 12 May 2016 A Transit of Mercury Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA Nemiroff R Bonnell J eds 13 May 2016 ISS and Mercury Too Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA a b c d e Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol 2 Priestley and Weale May 11 1832 p 103 a b Lequeux James 2013 03 15 Le Verrier Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer Springer Science amp Business Media ISBN 978 1 4614 5565 3 Chapman A 1985 Jeremy Shakerly 1626 1655 Astronomy astrology and patronage in Civil War Lancashire PDF Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 135 1 14 Retrieved 2022 05 16 Lynn W T October 1904 Thomas Streete The Observatory 27 369 370 Bibcode 1904Obs 27 369L Flamsteed John et al 1995 Forbes Eric G et al eds Correspondence of John Flamsteed Vol 1 Institute of Physics Publishing pp 624 627 ISBN 9780750307635 Baily F 1835 Account of Mr Abraham Sharp s observations of the transit of Mercury in April 1707 and Flamsteed s correspondence thereon Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 3 105 Bibcode 1835MNRAS 3 105B doi 10 1093 mnras 3 14 105 Leverington David 2003 Babylon to Voyager and Beyond A History of Planetary Astronomy Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521808408 Orchiston Wayne 1994 James Cook and the 1769 Transit of Mercury Information Sheet Carter Observatory ISSN 1173 7263 Freeman A December 1871 An early transit of Mercury Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 32 3 79 Bibcode 1872MNRAS 32 79 doi 10 1093 mnras 32 3 79 The Monthly magazine babel hathitrust org HathiTrust Digital Library 1799 Retrieved 2017 07 04 Magazine of Popular Science and Journal of the Useful Arts Vol 3 1837 p 154 The Monthly magazine babel hathitrust org HathiTrust Digital Library 1802 Retrieved 2017 07 04 Lassell W May 1845 Observations of the solar eclipse May 5 1845 and of the transit of Mercury May 8 1845 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 6 255 Bibcode 1845MNRAS 6 255L doi 10 1093 mnras 6 17 255 Lassell W 1861 The Transit of Mercury November 11 1861 observed at Malta Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 22 2 38 Bibcode 1861MNRAS 22 38L doi 10 1093 mnras 22 2 38a Observations of the Transit of Mercury 1878 May 6 made at the Royal Observatory Greenwich Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 38 7 397 1878 Bibcode 1878MNRAS 38 397 doi 10 1093 mnras 38 7 397 Tebbutt John December 1881 Transit of Mercury 1881 November 7 8 observed at Windsor New South Wales Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 42 103 Bibcode 1882MNRAS 42 103T doi 10 1093 mnras 42 3 103 Lindemann A F December 1894 Mercury transit of 1894 November 10 observed at Sidmouth Devon Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 55 78 Bibcode 1894MNRAS 55 78L doi 10 1093 mnras 55 2 78 Innes R T A December 1907 Mercury transit of 1907 November 14 observed at Johannesburg Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 68 128 Bibcode 1907MNRAS 68 128I doi 10 1093 mnras 68 2 128 Slater R C Slater S November 1914 Papers Communicated to the Association Journal of the British Astronomical Association 25 76 99 Bibcode 1914JBAA 25 76 McEwen H January 1926 Reports of the Observing Sections Transit of Mercury 1924 May 7 Journal of the British Astronomical Association 36 77 Bibcode 1926JBAA 36 77 Bennett A F 1928 Observation of the transit of Mercury 1927 November 10 at Leiston Suffolk Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 88 5 486 Bibcode 1928MNRAS 88 486B doi 10 1093 mnras 88 5 486 Office United States Naval Observatory Nautical Almanac 1936 The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac U S Government Printing Office Communication to the Association Journal of the British Astronomical Association 51 178 179 June 1941 Bibcode 1941JBAA 51 178 Archer S 1953 Observations of the Transit of Mercury 1953 November 14th Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 12 98 Bibcode 1953MNSSA 12 98A 1960 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 1970 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 1973 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 1986 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 1993 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 Porter J G March 1970 Transits of Mercury and Venus Journal of the British Astronomical Association 80 182 189 Bibcode 1970JBAA 80 182P 1999 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 2003 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 2006 Transit of Mercury HM Nautical Almanac Office UK Hydrographic Office November 5 2007 Retrieved May 30 2012 The Transit of Mercury on 2016 May 9 Retrieved June 7 2012 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Transits of Mercury NASA Transits of Mercury Seven Century Catalog 1601 CE to 2300 CE NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA Image from the transit of Mercury in 2003 27 May 2003 Shadow amp Substance com Transit of Mercury Animated for November 8 2006 Transits of Mercury Fourteen century catalog 1 601 AD 3 000 AD Transits of Mercury on Earth Fifteen millennium catalog 5 000 BC 10 000 AD Scroll a little bit down and then click on 40540 You will get then a table from 125 000 till 125 000 Time Lapse of the 9th May 2016 Transit of Mercury Links to high resolution video from a major solar telescope and more about several transits Portals nbsp Astronomy nbsp Stars nbsp Spaceflight nbsp Outer space Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Transit of Mercury amp oldid 1176104208, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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