On May 9, 2016, Mercury passed directly between the Sun and Earth, making a transit of the Sun. Mercury transits happen about 13 times each century. NASA's SDO studies the Sun 24/7 and captured the eight-hour event. The images of Mercury's journey across the Sun were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light.
Movie
Mercury_171_All.mov
Mercury_AIA_171_All.mp4
SDO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Its Atmosphere Imaging Assembly was built by the Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), Palo Alto, California.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Sun | Mercury |
System | Sun | |
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) | |
Instrument Host | ||
Host Type | ||
Instrument | Atmosphere Imaging Assembly | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Atmosphere, Color, Movie, Ultraviolet | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2016-05-09 | |
Date in Caption | 2016-05-09 | |
Image Credit | NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14729 | |
Identifier | PIA14729 |