PIA14729: Mercury Transit Across the Sun


Mercury Transit Across the Sun

Caption:

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

Background Info:

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.

Cataloging Keywords:

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