STOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL

A Teachable Moment in the Sky: The Transit of Mercury

It only happens about 13 times a century and won’t happen again until 2032, so don’t miss the transit of Mercury on Monday, Nov. 11! A transit happens when a planet crosses in front of a star. From our perspective on Earth, we only ever see two planets transit the Sun: Mercury and Venus. This is because these are the only planets between us and the Sun. (Transits of Venus are especially rare. The next one won’t happen until 2117.) During the upcoming transit of Mercury, viewers around Earth (using the proper safety equipment) will be able to see a tiny dark spot moving slowly across the disk of the Sun. Click below for more details.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2019/11/7/a-teachable-moment-in-the-sky-the-transit-of-mercury/