News story

A Transit of Mercury occurs on Monday 9 May 2016

A Transit of Mercury will occur on Monday 9 May 2016 visible from the British Isles

• From: HM Nautical Almanac Office and UK Hydrographic Office
• Published: 6 May 2016

Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO

A Transit of Mercury occurs on Monday 9 May 2016 which is visible in its entirety from the British Isles. A transit such as this occurs when a planetary body, Mercury in this case, comes between the Earth and the Sun. A small black dot can be seen moving across the face of the sun.

Mercury will look like an extremely small sunspot, crossing the disk of the Sun in 7 hours 30 minutes. This event is probably best seen by watching a webcast of the transit. Do not observe the Sun without suitable eye protection.

Further details and other astronomical events can be found on HMNAO’s monthly astronomical web page.

Published 6 May 2016