Tiny Mercury is skipping across the vast, glaring face of the sun in a rare celestial transit.
Stargazers use solar-filtered binoculars and telescopes to spot Mercury — a tiny black dot — as it passes directly between Earth and the sun.
The eastern US and Canada get the whole 5 ½-hour show, along with Central and South America. The rest of the world, except for Asia and Australia, gets just a sampling.
Mercury is the solar system’s smallest, innermost planet. The next transit isn’t until 2032, and North America won’t get another shot until 2049.
At Cape Canaveral, Florida, space buffs got a two-for-one. As Mercury’s silhouette graces the sun, SpaceX launches 60 small satellites for global internet service.
This still image from video issued by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury as it passes between Earth and the sun on November 11, 2019. (NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory via AP)
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 11, 2019
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